背景
This antimicrobial gene is one of several CC cytokine genes clustered on the p-arm of
chromosome 9. Cytokines are a family of secreted proteins involved in immunoregulatory
and inflammatory processes. The CC cytokines are proteins characterized by two adjacent
cysteines. Similar to other chemokines the protein encoded by this gene inhibits
hemopoiesis and stimulates chemotaxis. This protein is chemotactic in vitro for thymocytes
and activated T cells, but not for B cells, macrophages, or neutrophils. The cytokine encoded
by this gene may also play a role in mediating homing of lymphocytes to secondary
lymphoid organs. It is a high affinity functional ligand for chemokine receptor 7 that is
expressed on T and B lymphocytes and a known receptor for another member of the
cytokine family (small inducible cytokine A19).
