Cotton Rat CCL3/MIP-1 alpha Antibody

MIP-1 alpha is a beta family (CC) chemokine and has been designated CCL3. MIP-1 alpha and CCL4/MIP-1 beta, two closely related but distinct proteins, were originally purified from medium conditioned by a LPS-stimulated murine macrophage cell line. Cotton rat CCL3 cDNA encodes a 92 amino acid (aa) precursor protein with a 23 aa putative signal peptide. Mature cotton rat CCL3 shares approximately 70% amino acid identity with human CCL3. CCL3 is expressed in a wide variety of cells, including lymphocytes, fibroblasts, epithelial cells, and monocytes/macrophages. CCL3 has been shown to play an important role in the recruitment of mononuclear cells. Additionally, CCL3 has been reported to have chemoattractant and adhesive effects on lymphocytes, preferentially promoting the chemotaxis of Th1 cells. CCL3 has also been shown to attract B cells, eosinophils, and dendritic cells. In addition, CCL3 augments cytolytic activity of NK cells (1). CCL3 has been identified as a stem cell inhibitory factor that can inhibit the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells in vitro as well as in vivo. It has been demonstrated that CCL3 can bind the chemokine receptors CCR1 and CCR5 (2).