CCL14

CCL14 Full Name

chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 14

CCL14 Introduction

CCL14 (C–C motif chemokine ligand 14) is a small secreted chemokine belonging to the CC chemokine family, primarily involved in immune cell trafficking and modulation of inflammatory responses. For many patients and researchers facing the challenge of unexplained inflammation or immune dysregulation, CCL14 represents an important yet still underexplored signaling molecule that bridges innate immunity and tissue-level immune surveillance. It is expressed in multiple tissues, including liver, kidney, and immune-related environments, where it contributes to chemotactic gradients that guide monocytes, dendritic cells, and other immune subsets to sites of injury or pathological change. Its regulatory role is particularly relevant in conditions where immune recruitment becomes either insufficient for tissue repair or excessively persistent, leading to chronic damage.

Functionally, CCL14 plays a dual role in immune homeostasis: it supports controlled immune cell migration while also participating in the fine-tuning of inflammatory resolution. In acute kidney injury (AKI), growing clinical evidence highlights its relevance as a predictive biomarker. Systematic evaluation has shown that urinary CCL14 can effectively predict persistent AKI, achieving an AUC of approximately 0.83, outperforming several established biomarkers such as KIM-1, cystatin C, and NGAL. However, its predictive power for renal recovery is more moderate when compared with markers like TIMP-2 and IGFBP7. These findings suggest that CCL14 reflects a specific aspect of sustained tubular stress and maladaptive repair, making it particularly valuable in early risk stratification of patients who may progress to long-term renal dysfunction.

Beyond kidney disease, CCL14 has emerged as a significant player in tumor immunology, where dysregulated chemokine signaling often shapes the tumor microenvironment (TME). In gastric cancer, elevated CCL14 expression correlates with deeper tumor invasion, poorer differentiation, and increased immune checkpoint activity, including associations with LAG3 and PD-L1, indicating its potential role in immunosuppressive microenvironments and unfavorable prognosis. Conversely, in lung adenocarcinoma, higher CCL14 expression appears protective, being linked to enhanced immune cell infiltration, reduced tumor cell migration, and improved patient survival, suggesting context-dependent tumor-suppressive properties. This dual behavior across diseases highlights CCL14 as a complex immunomodulatory biomarker whose clinical significance depends on tissue context, disease stage, and immune landscape—making it a promising but still evolving target for diagnostic and therapeutic research in inflammatory diseases, kidney injury, and cancer immunotherapy.

Alternate Names for CCL14

CCL14; chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 14; SCYA14, small inducible cytokine subfamily A (Cys Cys), member 14; C-C motif chemokine 14; CKb1; HCC 1; HCC 3; MCIF; NCC 2; SCYL2

• 1.Kirman DC, et al.; Cell surface nucleolin is a novel ADAMTS5 receptor mediating endothelial cell apoptosis. Cell Death Dis. 2022, 13(2):172.
  2.Qian BS, et al.; Analysis of urinary C-C motif chemokine ligand 14 (CCL14) and first-generation urinary biomarkers for predicting renal recovery from acute kidney injury: a prospective exploratory study. J Intensive Care. 2023, 11(1):11.