The roles of CC chemokines in response to radiation

Radiotherapy is an effective regimen for cancer treatment alone or combined with chemotherapy or immunotherapy. The direct effect of radiotherapy involves radiation-induced DNA damage, and most studies have focused on this area to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy. Recently, the immunomodulatory effect of radiation on the tumour microenvironment has attracted much interest. Dying tumour cells can release multiple immune-related molecules, including tumour-associated antigens, chemokines, and inflammatory mediators. Then, immune cells are attracted to the irradiated site, exerting immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive effects. CC chemokines play pivotal roles in the trafficking process. The CC chemokine family includes 28 members that attract different immune subsets. Upon irradiation, tumour cells or immune cells can release different CC chemokines. Here, we mainly discuss the importance of CCL2, CCL3, CCL5, CCL8, CCL11, CCL20 and CCL22 in radiotherapy. In irradiated normal tissues, released chemokines induce epithelial to mesenchymal transition, thus promoting tissue injury. In the tumour microenvironment, released chemokines recruit cancer-associated cells, such as tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and tumour-associated macrophages, to the tumour niche. Thus, CC chemokines have protumour and antitumour properties. Based on the complex roles of CC chemokines in the response to radiation, it would be promising to target specific chemokines to alleviate radiation-induced injury or promote tumour control.