Description
IL-16 is a pleiotropic cytokine that functions as a chemoattractant, a modulator of T cell activation, and an inhibitor of HIV replication. The signaling process of IL-16 is mediated by CD4. The product of this gene undergoes proteolytic processing, which is found to yield two functional proteins. Major IL-16 functions are exclusively attributed to the secreted C-terminal peptide, while the N-terminal product may play a role in cell cycle control. Caspase-3 is reported to be involved in the proteolytic processing of this protein. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.IL-16 stimulates a migratory response in cd4+ lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils and it also induces t-lymphocyte expression of interleukin-2 receptor ligand for cd4.:Recombinant mouse IL-16 produced in E. coli is a single, non-glycosylated polypeptide chain of 127 amino acids having a molecular mass of 13.2 kDa. It has been purified by using proprietary chromatographic techniques