Description
RELMalpha belongs to a unique family of tissue-specific cytokines termed FIZZ (found in inflammatory zone) and RELM. The other three known members of this family; Resistin, RELMalpha, and RELMbeta, are 85-94 amino acid secreted proteins sharing a conserved C-terminal domain characterized by 10 cysteine residues with a unique spacing motif of C-X11-C-X8-C-X-C-X3-C-X10-C-X-C-X-C-X9-C-C. RELMgamma is most closely related to RELMalpha, but is distinctly secreted to bone marrow, spleen, lung, and in peripheral blood granulocytes. The physiological role of RELMgamma may include the promotion or regulation of promyelocytic differentiation, although the specific molecular targets of RELMgamma have not been identified. Recombinant murine RELMgamma is a 9.2 kDa monomeric protein containing 88 amino acid residues