Background:
This antimicrobial gene belongs to the subfamily of small cytokine CC genes. 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 resting CD4 or CD8 T cells and eosinophils. The product of this gene binds to chemokine receptors CCR3 and CCR10. This chemokine may play a role in the physiology of extracutaneous epithelial tissues, including diverse mucosal organs. Multiple transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene.