C-C motif chemokine 18; alternative macrophage activation-associated CC chemokine 1; AMAC-1; CC chemokine PARC; dendritic cell chemokine 1; DC-CK1; macrophage inflammatory protein 4; MIP-4; pulmonary & activation-regulated chemokine; small-inducible cytokine A18 (CCL18, AMAC1, DCCK1, MIP4, PARC, SCYA18)

Function

• chemotactic factor that attracts lymphocytes
• not chemotactic for monocytes or granulocytes
• may be involved in B-cell migration into B-cell follicles in lymph nodes
• attracts naive T-cells toward dendritic cells & activated macrophages in lymph nodes, has chemotactic activity for naive T-cells, CD4+ & CD8+ T-cells & thus may play a role in both humoral immunity & cell-mediated immunity

Structure

• belongs to the intercrine beta (chemokine CC) family

Compartment

secreted

Expression

• expressed at high levels in lung, lymph nodes, placenta, bone marrow, dendritic cells present in germinal centers & T-cell areas of secondary lymphoid organs & macrophages derived from peripheral blood monocytes
• not expressed by peripheral blood monocytes
• monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation is a prerequisite for expression
• expressed in synovial fluids from patients with rheumatoid arthritis & septic arthritis & in ovarian carcinoma ascitic fluid
• specifically induced in macrophages by IL-4, IL-13, & IL-10
• expression is inhibited by IFN-gamma
• glucocorticoids exert a slightly positive synergistic effect in combination with IL-4
• strongly induced in several human cell lines, including monocytic U937 cells, by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)
• induced in PBMC by Staphylococcal enterotoxin A & Staphylococcal enterotoxin B

Laboratory

• chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 18 in serum

More general terms

• CC chemokine; beta chemokine

Database

• Entrez gene: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Graphics&list_uids=6362
• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?hsa:6362
• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/603757
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P55774.html