Description
Interleukin-8(IL-8) is a chemokine produced by macrophages and other cell types such as epithelial cells. It is also synthesized by endothelial cells, which store IL-8 in their storage vesicles, the Weibel-Palade bodies. In humans, the interleukin-8 protein is encoded by the IL8 gene. Interleukin-8(IL8) is a member of the CXC chemokine family(Hull et al., 2001). IL-8 is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of bronchiolitis, a common respiratory tract disease caused by viral infection. This gene and other ten members of the CXC chemokine gene family form a chemokine gene cluster in a region mapped to chromosome 4q. The genes for IL8 have been co-localized on a 335-kb genomic fragment