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Interleukin-13 is a pleiotropic regulatory cytokine, which shares many of the properties of Interleukin-4. IL-13 is produced primarily by activated T lymphocytes and acts via specific cell surface receptor complexes. Its biological activities include the stimulation of B-cell proliferation and differentiation and the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses.

EPH Receptor B2 (EPHB2) is a part of the transmembrane Eph receptor tyrosine kinase family (RTKs) which binds proteins of the Ephrin family on adjacent cells. The interaction leads to contact-dependent bidirectional signaling into neighboring cells. Hippocampal neurons can release vesicles containing full length EPHB2, and these are taken up by neighboring glial cells. EPHB2 takes part in the guidance of commissural axons through the embryonic midline and regulates dendritic spines development and maturation and stimulates the formation of excitatory synapses.

IL23 is composed of a subunit of the heterodimeric cytokine IL23 and the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL12B). Interleukin-23 (IL-23) belongs to the IL-12 family and is produced by antigen presenting cells. IL-23 using IL12RB1 and IL-23R (specific for IL-23) can activate STAT and NF-kB pathways and stimulate the production of interferon-gamma. ). IL-23 is known to take a vital part in the inflammation process and is associated with auto immune diseases. However, unlike IL12, which acts primarily on naive CD4(+) T cells, IL23 preferentially acts on memory CD4(+) T cells.

Interleukin-2 Receptor Gamma (IL2RG) is a cytokine receptor sub-unit which is common to the receptor complexes for at least six different interleukin receptors. IL2RG is located on the surface of immature blood-forming cells in bone marrow. One end of the IL2RG protein resides outside of the cell where it binds to cytokines and the other end of the IL2RG protein resides in the interior of the cell where it transmits signals to the cell's nucleus. IL2RG teams up with other proteins to direct blood-forming cells to form lymphocytes. In addition, IL2RG directs the growth and maturation of lymphocyte subtypes, which kill viruses, make antibodies, and help regulate the entire immune system.

IL36RA belongs to the IL-1 family of proteins. IL36RA is produced as a 156 aa protein which holds no signal sequence, no prosegment and no potential N-linked glycosylation site but, IL36RA is secreted as a 17 kDa monomer. Cells known to express IL36Ra/IL1F5 include monocytes, B cells, keratinocytes, dendritic cells/Langerhans cells and gastric fundus Parietal and Chief cells.

Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) comprise a family of at least eighteen structurally realted proteins that are involved in a multitude of physiological and pathological cellular processes, including cell growth, differentation, angiogenesis, wound healing and tumorgenesis. The biological activities of the FGFs are mediated by a family if type I transmembrane tyrosine kinases which undergo dimerization and autophosphorylation after ligand binding. Four distinct genes encoding closely related FGF receptors, FGFR-1to -4 are known. Multiple forms of FGFR-1 to -3 are generated by alternative splicing of the mRNAs. A frequent splicing event involving FGFR-1 and -2 results in receptors containing all three Ig domains, referred to as the alpha isoform, or only IgII and IgIII, referred to as the ? isoform. Only the alpha isoform has been identified for FGFR-3 and FGFR-4. Additional splicing events for FGFR-1 to -3, involving the C-terminal half of the IgIII domain encoded by two mutually exclusive alternative exons, generate FGF receptors with alternative IgIII domains (IIIb and IIIc). A IIIa isoform which is a secreted FGF binding protein containing only the N-terminal half of the IgIII domain plus some intron sequences has also been reported for FGFR-1. Mutations in FGFR-1 to -3 have been found in patients with birth defects involving craniosynostosis.

TNFR2 belongs to the TNF-receptor superfamily. TNFR2 is receptor with high affinity for TNFSF2/TNF-alpha and approximately 5-fold lower affinity for homotrimeric TNFSF1/lymphotoxin-alpha. TNFR2 mediates the majority of the metabolic effects of TNF-alpha. In addition, knockout studies in mice propose a role for TNFR2 in protecting neurons from apoptosis by stimulating antioxidative pathways. TNFR2 expression might have a significant role in the angiogenesis, tumor cell proliferation and metastasis of Invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast.
There are 2 types of soluble TNF receptors: sTNFR-I and sTNFR-II, which act to neutralize the biological activities of TNF alpha and TNF beta. The levels of these soluble receptors seem to increase as a result of shedding of the extracellular domains of the membrane bound receptors. High levels of soluble TNF receptors are found in the amniotic fluid of pregnant women. TNFR2 and TNFR1 form a heterocomplex which mediates the recruitment of 2 anti-apoptotic proteins, c-IAP1 and c-IAP2, which possess E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. IAPs’ function in TNF-receptor signaling is unknown; nevertheless, c-IAP1 is believed to potentiate TNF-induced apoptosis by the ubiquitination and degradation of TNF-receptor-associated factor 2, which mediates anti-apoptotic signals. Oxidative stress promotes TNFR1 and TNFR2 self-interaction, ligand-independent and enhanced ligand-dependent TNF signaling. TNF-a, TNFR1 and TNFR2 have roles in cellular differentiation. TNFR1 and TNFR2 function in cell type-specific renal injury.

Killer Cell Lectin-like Receptor Subfamily G, Member 1 (KLRG1) is a member of the killer cell lectin-like receptor (KLR) family, which is a group of transmembrane proteins preferentially expressed in NK cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes which mediate lysis of certain tumor cells and virus-infected cells without previous activation. NK cells can also regulate specific humoral and cell-mediated immunity. The cell surface expression of KLRG1 is up-regulated by MHC class I molecules expression.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a glycoprotein present in fetal digestive-tract tissues; it’s involved in cell adhesion. The production of CEA stops before birth. CEA is called tumor marker since its elevated levels are found in the serum from individuals with colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, lung and breast carcinomas and in heavy smokers.
There are also benign conditions that elevate CEA levels such as smoking, infection, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and some benign tumors (in the equivalent organs which have cancers with elevated CEA). Typically, higher levels of CEA are found in men, smokers, and older individuals.
The presence of CEA assists in screening, in evaluating recurrent or disseminated disease, and in determining the success of surgical removal of malignant tumors.
CEA levels can be used as indicators of treatment success. The normal values range from 0.0 to 2.5 ng/ml of serum (from blood), in non-smokers, a greater amount than that may be suggestive of cancer. Levels above 20 ng/ml before treatment are associated with cancer which has already metastasized. Benign conditions do not usually cause a CEA increase over 10 ng/ml.
The high levels of CEA should return to normal after successful therapy, however if during follow up there’s an elevation in CEA levels it indicates a recurrence of tumor.
Carcinoembryonic antigen family belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily; it consists of 29 genes, 18 of which are normally expressed.

HB-EGF is an EGF related growth factor which signals via the EGF receptor, and stimulates the proliferation of SMC (smooth muscle cells), fibroblasts, epithelial cells and keratinocytes. HB-EGF is expressed in various cell types and tissues, including vascular endothelial cells and SMC, macrophages, skeletal muscle, keratinocytes and particular tumor cells. HB-EGF’s ability to explicitly bind heparin and heparin sulfate proteoglycans is dissimilar from other EGF-like molecules, and might be related to the enhanced mitogenic activity, relative to EGF, that HB-EGF exerts on smooth muscle cells.

Placental Growth Factor (PLGF) which is a member of the VEGF sub-family, is a growth factor active in angiogenesis, and endothelial cell growth, stimulating their proliferation and migration. PLGFmainly plays a role in trophoblast growth and differentiation and binds to receptor vegfr-1/flt1.

Serum amyloid A protein which is a member of the SAA family is encoded by the SAA gene in humans. SAA is expressed by the liver and secreted in plasma. Serum amyloid A is the main acute phase reactant and apolipoprotein of the HDL complex. Elevated serum SAA protein levels may be linked with lung cancer. The level of Apo-SAA, which is ordinarily 1-5 ?g/ml in plasma, increases 500-1000 fold within 24 hours of an inflammatory stimulus and, under these conditions, is the most abundant HDL Apolipoprotein.

Immunoglobulin J chain (IGJ) helps to link 2 monomer units of either IgM or IgA and also also helps to bind these immunoglobulins to secretory component. When it comes to IgM, the J chain-joined dimer is a nucleating unit for the IgM pentamer and in the case of IgA it induces larger polymers.

Interleukin-1 alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by a wide variety of cell types, including macrophages, osteoblasts, monocytes and hepatocytes. Circulating levels of are normally low and only rise after stimulation by agents such as those produced byinflammation, infection or microbial endotoxins. IL-1 alpha possesses a wide variety of biological activities and exerts its effects by binding to specific cell surface receptors.

BCL2L2 promotes cell survival and blocks dexamethasone-induced apoptosis. BCL2L2 mediates survival of postmitotic Sertoli cells by suppressing death-promoting activity of BAX. BCL2L2 is part of the BCL-2 protein family which form hetero- or homodimers and play an important role as anti and proapoptotic regulators. BCL2L2 causes reduced cell apoptosis under cytotoxic conditions. BCL2L2 is involved in the survival of NGF- and BDNF-dependent neurons. BCL2L2 plays an important role in adult spermatogenesis.

The Defensin family are highly similar in their protein sequence and are microbicidal & cytotoxic peptides made by neutrophils. Beta Defensin-1 is an antimicrobial peptide having the resistance of epithelial surfaces to microbial colonization. Beta Defensin-1 has close proximity to Defensin Alpha-1 and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis.
Skin of patients having atopic dermatitis patients and mycosis fungoides (non-lesional and lesional) show lower human Beta Defensin-1 mRNA expression and higher human Beta Defensin-2 and human Beta Defensin-3 mRNA expression.
Beta Defensin is highly expressed by epithelial cells.
Beta-defensin 1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of severe sepsis.

Defensins are cationic peptides with a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity that comprise an important arm of the innate immune system. The Alpha defensins are differentiated from the Beta-defensins by the pairing of their 3 disulfide bonds.
4 human Beta-defensins have been identified to date; BD-1, BD-2, BD-3 and BD-4.
Beta-defensins are expressed on some leukocytes and at epithelial surfaces.
In addition to their direct antimicrobial activities, they are chemoattractant towards immature dendritic cells and memory T cells. The beta-defensin proteins are expressed as the C-terminal portion of precursors and are released by proteolytic cleavage of a signal sequence and, in the case of BD-1 (36 a.a.), a propeptide region. Beta-defensins contain a six-cysteine motif that forms three intra-molecular disulfide bonds. Beta-Defensins are 3-5 kDa peptides ranging in size from 33-47 amino acid residues.

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 11 (CCL11) is a small cytokine belonging to the CC chemokine family that is also known as eotaxin. CCL11 selectively recruits eosinophils by inducing their chemotaxis, and therefore, is implicated in allergic responses. The effects of CCL11 are mediated by its binding to a G-protein-linked receptor known as a chemokine receptor. Chemokine receptors for which CCL11 is a ligand include CCR2, CCR3 and CCR5. The gene for human CCL11 (scya11) is encoded on three exons and is located on chromosome 17.

IL-17F having an accession number of Q96PD4 is a cytokine that shares sequence similarity with IL17. IL-17F is expressed by activated T cells, and has been shown to stimulate the production of several other cytokines, including IL6, IL8, and CSF2/GM_CSF. IL-17F inhibits the angiogenesis of endothelial cells and induce endothelial cells to produce IL2, TGFB1/TGFB, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. IL-17F induces stromal cells to produce proinflammatory and hematopoietic cytokines. Intestinal IL17F gene expression is increased in active CD.
IL-17A & IL-17F alleles influence the susceptibility to and pathophysiological features of ulcerative colitis independently. IL-17F and MIF gene polymorphisms are significantly associated with the development of functional dyspepsia.
The initiation of IL-17F/IL-17R signaling pathway requires the receptor ubiquitination by TRAF6. IL-17F induces expression of IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) by activating Raf1-mitogen-activated protein kinase 1/2-extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2-p90 ribosomal S6 kinase-cyclic AMP response element-binding protein signaling pathway.

IL2 is a secreted cytokine that is important for the proliferation of T and B lymphocytes. The receptor of this cytokine is a heterotrimeric protein complex whose gamma chain is also shared by interleukin 4 (IL4) and interleukin 7 (IL7). The expression of this gene in mature thymocytes is monoallelic, which represents an unusual regulatory mode for controlling the precise expression of a single gene. The targeted disruption of a similar gene in mice leads to ulcerative colitis-like disease, which suggests an essential role of this gene in the immune response to antigenic stimuli.

Interleukin-3 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced primarily by activated T cells.
IL-3 is thought to function via specific cell surface receptors to stimulate the proliferation, differentiation and survival of haematopoietic cell lines. IL-3 has also been shown to affect the functional activity of a variety of other cell types including mast cells, eosinophils, megakaryocytes and basophils.

nterleukin 33 (IL-33) is a 32kDa proinflammatory cytokine that may also regulate gene transcription in producer cells. IL-33 is structurally related to IL-1, which induces helper T cells to produce type 2 cytokines and acts through the receptor IL1RL-1 (IL1 receptor-like-1), which is known also as ST2. Binding of IL-33 to this receptor activates NF-kappa-B and MAP kinases and induces in vitro Th2 cells to produce cytokines. In vivo, IL-33 induces expression of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 and leads to severe pathological changes in mucosal organs and in vitro, it can be divided to N-terminal fragment of 12kDa and C-terminal fragment of 18kDa by cleavage of caspase-1.

Interleukin-18 Binding Protein (IL18BP) serves as an inhibitor of the proinflammatory cytokine, IL18. IL18BP binds IL18, inhibits the binding of IL18 to its receptor, and consequently inhibits IL18-induced IFN-gamma production, resulting in reduced T-helper type 1 immune responses. The IL18BP protein is constitutively expressed and secreted in mononuclear cells. Elevated levels of IL18BP protein are detected in the intestinal tissues of patients with Crohn's disease.

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a multifunctional growth factor which regulates both cell growth and cell motility. It exerts a strong mitogenic effect on hepatocytes and primary epithelial cells. HGF synergizes with Interleukin-3and GM-CSFto stimulate colony formation of hematopoietic progenitor cells in vitro and may, therefore, also modulate hematopoiesis.