CD163

CD163 is the scavenger receptor for hemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes and the defining member of the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich family expressed in blood. The protein is found almost exclusively on monocytes and macrophages, with the highest density on alternatively activated macrophages, and it can be shed from the surface by ADAM17 to generate a soluble form. Uptake of hemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes induces heme oxygenase-1 expression and anti-inflammatory cytokine release, positioning CD163 as a key component of heme detoxification. Soluble CD163 rises in hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and severe infections, and the abundance of CD163-positive macrophages marks immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophage phenotypes.