title: Signaling and functional properties of interleukin-16.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Center, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA. bcruikshank@bupula.bu.edu
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Cruikshank
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Center
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019410:Interleukin-16 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D019410:Interleukin-16