Thymus Activation Regulated Chemokine (TARC)

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 17 (CCL17) is a small cytokine belonging to the CC chemokine family that is also known as thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC). CCL17 is expressed constitutively in thymus, but only transiently in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

This chemokine specifically binds and induces chemotaxis in T cells and elicits its effects by interacting with the chemokine receptor CCR4.The gene for CCL17 is located on chromosome 16, in humans, along with other chemokines called CCL22 and CX3CL1.