# CD163

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/cd163/  
OnCo record `cd163` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

CD163 marks the macrophages that help a tumour rather than attack it. It is the usual way of counting those cells in a tumour sample, which is why it appears whenever tumour-associated macrophages are discussed.

## Summary

CD163 is a scavenger receptor for haemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes and is confined to monocytes and macrophages. It is the marker most often used to identify alternatively activated macrophages, the phenotype associated with tissue repair and immune suppression rather than with killing, and so it is the standard stain for counting tumour-associated macrophages in a tissue section. A soluble form shed into blood is measured in inflammatory disease. CD163 is the practical link between the macrophage record on this site and the agents aimed at that compartment, such as the CSF1R antibodies.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-10-16
- Tags: immune-marker
- Symbol: CD163
- Class: surface-antigen
- Biology: Scavenger receptor for haemoglobin-haptoglobin complexes, restricted to the monocyte and macrophage line.
- Where found: Macrophages, particularly the alternatively activated kind; Monocytes at lower level

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD163
- HGNC:1631: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:1631

## Connected records

- targets: [CD14](https://onco.cc/targets/cd14/), [CSF1R](https://onco.cc/targets/csf1r/)
- terms: [Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs)](https://onco.cc/terms/tumor-associated-macrophages/)
- pathways: [Tumour microenvironment (TME)](https://onco.cc/pathways/tumor-microenvironment/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/cd163.json