Aberrant CXCR4 signaling at crossroad of WHIM syndrome and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia

Given its pleiotropic functions, including its prominent role in inflammation, immune responses and cancer, the chemokine receptor CXCR4 has gained significant attention in the recent years and it has become a relevant target in drug development. Although the signaling properties of CXCR4 have been extensively studied, several aspects deserve deeper investigations. Mutations in the C-term tail of the CXCR4 gene cause WHIM syndrome, a rare congenital immunodeficiency associated by chronic leukopenia. Similar mutations have also been recently identified in 30% of patients affected by Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia, a B-cell neoplasia with bone marrow accumulation of malignant cells. An ample body of work has been generated to define the impact of WHIM mutations on CXCR4 signaling properties and evaluate their role on pathogenesis, diagnosis, and response to therapy, though the identity of disease-causing signaling pathways and their relevance for the disease development in different genetic variants are still open questions. This review discusses the current knowledge on biochemical properties of CXCR4 mutations to identify their prototypic signaling profile potentially useful to highlighting novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention