CXCR4 and inflammatory bowel disease: In patients with active inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there are significantly increased interleukin-17A (IL-17A) levels in inflamed mucosa that promote the transcription of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in bone marrow (36), thereby inhibiting and activating the expression of CXCR4 binding ligands and CXCR2 binding ligands, respectively.