A novel CC chemokine was identified in the thymus of mouse and human and was designated TECK （thymus-expressed chemokine）. TECK has weak homology to other CC chemokines and maps to mouse chromosome 8. Besides the thymus, mRNA encoding TECK was detected at substantial levels in the small intestine and at low levels in the liver.
TECK has been reported to chemoattract dendritic cells, thymocytes, and activated macrophages. TECK is a specific agonist for a human orphan receptor called GPR-9-6. Human TECK also induced the in vitro migration of HEK 293/human GPR-9-6 cells. These results confirm that GPR-9-6 is a specific receptor for TECK.
Recombinant human TECK is a protein containing 127 amino acid residues, including the four conserved cysteine residues present in CC chemokines.