Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-2 (MIP-2) was originally identified as a heparin-binding protein secreted from a murine macrophage cell line in response to endotoxin stimulation. Based on its protein and DNA sequences, MIP-2 is a member of the alpha (C-X-C) subfamily of chemokines. MIP-2 cDNA encodes a 100 amino acid residue precursor protein from which the amino-terminal 27 amino acid residues are cleaved to generate the mature MIP-2. The protein sequence of murine MIP-2 shows approximately 63% identity to that of murine KC, another murine alpha chemokine whose expression is induced by PDGF. In addition, the protein sequence of MIP-2 is also 60% identical to human GRO beta and GRO gamma. It has been suggested that mouse KC and MIP-2 are the homologs of the human GROs and rat CINCs. Similarly to other alpha chemokines, murine MIP-2 is a potent neutrophil attractant and activator. MIP-2 and KC can bind the murine interleukin 8 type B receptor homologue with high affinity. The expression of MIP-2 was found to be associated with neutrophil influx in pulmonary inflammation and glomerulonephritis, suggesting that MIP-2 may contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases.
