Granulocyte Chemotactic Protein 2 (GCP2)

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 6 (CXCL6) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that is also known as granulocyte chemotactic protein 2 (GCP-2). As its former name suggests, CXCL6 is a chemoattractant for neutrophilic granulocytes. It elicits its chemotactic effects by interacting with the chemokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2.The gene for CXCL6 is located on human chromosome 4 in a cluster with other CXC chemokine genes.

The GCP2 gene encodes a propeptide of 114 amino acids. Despite 85% identity of the first 270 nucleotides 5-prime of the transcription start sites, GCP2 and the other CXC chemokine gene ENA78 showed cell-specific differences in regulation.In vivo studies in rabbit demonstrated that GCP2 is a potent inflammatory mediator.