Abstract
Autoimmune diseases are diseases characterized by local or systemic
abnormal inflammatory immune responses. With the in-depth exploration of
the pathological mechanism of autoimmune diseases, it is found that
occurrence and development of autoimmune diseases are largely related to
the interaction between chemokine receptors and chemokines expressed at
inflammatory sites. CCR7, one of Chemokine receptors members, binds to
CCL21, which regulates lymphocyte homing, neovascularization and immune
cells migration in autoimmune diseases. However, the underlying
signaling pathways of CCL21/CCR7 need to be further explored. Despite
the enormous advances in our knowledge of chemokines, research about the
involvement of CCL21/CCR7 in autoimmune diseases progression is still
limited. Thus, in this review, we summarize the essential role of
CCL21/CCR7 in autoimmune diseases progression. Further studies are
critical to illustrate the distinct roles of CCL21/CCR7 in autoimmune
diseases progression, and are important significance for discovery of
new biomarkers and drug targets of autoimmune diseases.