Description
This antimicrobial gene is one of several Cys-Cys (CC) cytokine genes clustered on the q arm of chromosome 16.
Cytokines are a family of secreted proteins involved in immunoregulatory and inflammatory processes.
The CC cytokines are proteins characterized by two adjacent cysteines.
The cytokine encoded by this gene displays chemotactic activity for T lymphocytes, but not monocytes or granulocytes.
The product of this gene binds to chemokine receptors CCR4 and CCR8.
This chemokine plays important roles in T cell development in thymus as well as in trafficking and activation of mature T cells