Signaling and functional properties of interleukin-16.
Interleukin-16 is secreted from a variety of immune cells as a peptide of 17 kDa which aggregates into tetrameric form essential for IL-16s direct interaction with and cross linking of its receptor, the CD4 antigen. IL-16 stimulation of CD4+ cells results in the induction of cell motility, and in addition can function as a competence growth factor for CD4+ lymphocytes. These activities suggest that IL-16 could play a role in the accumulation and activation of CD4+ cells recruited to sites of inflammation. Along those lines, IL-16 has been identified at sites of inflammation associated with several different disease states. Its function as a competence growth factor specifically for CD4+ T cells may be useful for immune reconstitution in immunodeficiency diseases such as AIDS.
Cruikshank
W W
WW
Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA. bcruikshank@bupula.bu.edu
Kornfeld
H
H
Center
D M
DM
D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019410:Interleukin-16 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D019410:Interleukin-16