Fig. 4

CXCR4 exacerbated CRC progression by increasing inflammatory cytokines and recruiting immune suppressive cells. a ELISA was performed to examine the levels of cytokine IL-1, IL-6 and TNFα (n = 5 for each group). b The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and COX2 were determined by Western blot assay. Bar graphs indicated the relative levels of these proteins normalized to β-actin. *P < 0.05 vs. WT mice. ^#P < 0.05 vs. CXCR4^+/− mice. c, d The percentages of gated CD4⁺, CD8⁺ T-cells, CD11b⁺F4/80⁺ macrophages, CD11b⁺Ly6C⁺, CD11b⁺Ly6G⁺ MDSCs immune cells in the blood and colonic tissues of AOM/DSS treated mice were subjected to flow cytometry analysis (n = 5 for each group). e Representative images were shown to indicate the expression of F4/80, CD4⁺, CD8⁺ T-cells in different groups (n = 5) determined by immunohistochemistry assay (400 ×)