B-Lymphocyte Chemoattractant (BLC)

B lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC), also known as C-X-C motif chemokine 13 (CXCL13) or B cell-attracting chemokine 1 (BCA-1), is a protein ligand. Chemotactic for B-lymphocytes but not for T-lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils. Does not induce calcium release in B-lymphocytes. CXCL13 is a small chemokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family. CXCL13 cDNA encodes a protein of 109 amino acid residues including the signal peptide of 22 residues. Its expression level was highest in liver, followed by spleen, lymph node, appendix and stomach, and low in salivary gland, mammary gland and fetal spleen. CXCL13 can form homodimers or heterodimers with FGF basic, and bind to chemokine receptor BLR1/CXCR5.