CXCL15

CXCL15 is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that is also known as lungkine. Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins that are important in cell signaling. Their release has an effect on the behavior of cells around them. It gets its name from two of the cysteine residues found in the cytokine family.

CXCL15 is secreted by the pulmonary epithelial cells and it is chemotactic for neutrophil granulocytes. Neutrophil granulocytes, generally referred to as neutrophils, are the most abundant type of white blood cells in mammals and form an essential part of the innate immune system. They are formed from stem cells in the bone marrow.

The gene for CXCL15 is located on chromosome 4 in humans. Chromosome 4 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans. People normally have two copies of this chromosome. Chromosome 4 spans more than 186 million base pairs and represents between 6 and 6.5 percent of the total DNA in cells.

CXCL15 is involved in inflammatory responses and its expression can be induced by lipopolysaccharide, which is an endotoxin that causes the release of cytokines leading to inflammatory responses. Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants.

CXCL15 is also known to play a role in the pathogenesis of several diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long-term breathing problems and poor airflow, and cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine.

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