Description
Product Characteristics: In many species, both C-C chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein, or MIP-1 alpha (CCL3L1), and MIP-1 beta (CCL4) are structurally and functionally related CC chemokines. They are both potent chemoattractants for monocytes, which form an important component of the stroma of tumor tissue, and in humans may regulate tumor growth and associated inflammation. They participate in the host response to invading bacterial, viral, parasite and fungal pathogens by regulating the trafficking and activation state of selected subgroups of inflammatory cells e.g. macrophages, lymphocytes and NK cells. Both MIP-1 alpha and MIP-1 beta exert similar effects on monocytes, but their effect on lymphocytes differ. MIP-1 alpha selectively attracts CD8+ lymphocytes, while MIP-1 beta selectively attracts CD4+ lymphocytes. They contain the four highly conserved cysteine residues present in CC chemokines. MIP-1 beta (CCL4) has specificity for CCR5 receptors. In humans, it is also a major HIV-suppressive factor produced by CD8+ T cells.
Synonyms: CCL4, C-C motif chemokine 4, Small-inducible cytokine A4, Macrophage inflammatory protein 1-beta, MIP-1-beta, ACT-2, MIP-1ß
Target Information: This gene is one of several cytokine genes clustered on the q-arm of chromosome 17. Cytokines are a family of secreted proteins involved in immunoregulatory and inflammatory processes. This protein is similar to CCL4 which inhibits HIV entry by binding to the cellular receptor CCR5. The copy number of this gene varies among individuals\, most individuals have 1-5 copies in the diploid genome, although rare individuals do not contain this gene at all. The human genome reference assembly contains two copies of this gene. This record represents the more centromeric gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]