CCL22
Encyclopedia
C-C motif chemokine 22 is a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 that in humans is encoded by the CCL22 gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

The protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 encoded by this gene is secreted by dendritic cells and macrophage
Macrophage
Macrophages are cells produced by the differentiation of monocytes in tissues. Human macrophages are about in diameter. Monocytes and macrophages are phagocytes. Macrophages function in both non-specific defense as well as help initiate specific defense mechanisms of vertebrate animals...

s, and elicits its effects on its target cells by interacting with cell surface chemokine receptor
Chemokine receptor
Chemokine receptors are cytokine receptors found on the surface of certain cells, which interact with a type of cytokine called a chemokine. There have been 19 distinct chemokine receptors described in mammals...

s such as CCR4
CCR4
C-C chemokine receptor type 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CCR4 gene. CCR4 has also recently been designated CD194 .The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor family...

. The gene for CCL22 is located in human chromosome 16 in a cluster with other chemokines called CX3CL1
CX3CL1
Chemokine ligand 1 is a large cytokine protein of 373 amino acids, it contains multiple domains and is the only known member of the CX3C chemokine family. It is also commonly known under the names fractalkine and neurotactin . The polypeptide structure of CXC3L1 differs from the typical...

 and CCL17
CCL17
Chemokine ligand 17 is a small cytokine belonging to the CC chemokine family that is also known as thymus and activation regulated chemokine . CCL17 is expressed constitutively in thymus, but only transiently in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells...

.

Further reading

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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