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IL-16 is a pleiotropic cytokine that functions as a chemoattractant, a modulator of T cell activation, and an inhibitor of HIV replication. The signaling process of IL-16 is mediated by CD4. The product of this gene undergoes proteolytic processing, which is found to yield two functional proteins. IL-16 functions exclusively attributed to the secreted C-terminal peptide, while the N-terminal product may play a role in cell cycle control. Caspase 3 is reported to be involved in the proteolytic processing of this protein. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene.
IL-16 stimulates a migratory response in cd4+ lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils. Also induces t-lymphocyte expression of interleukin 2 receptor, ligand for cd4.

The IL1RL1 gene is a member of the IL-1 receptor family, encoding a transmembrane protein with a structure similar to IL-1R1. IL1RL1 is a receptor for interleukin-33, its stimulation recruits MYD88, IRAK1, IRAK4, and TRAF6, followed by phosphorylation of MAPK3/ERK1 and/or MAPK1/ERK2, MAPK14, and MAPK8. IL1RL1 may possibly be involved in helper T-cell function. IL1RL1 is highly expressed in kidney, lung, placenta, stomach, skeletal muscle, colon and small intestine.
A soluble form of the IL1RL1 is produced from the same gene by alternative splicing and was shown to be expressed in several cell types including fibroblasts and mast cells. Soluble IL1RL1 also acts as a negative regulator of Th2 cytokine production and high levels have been reported in several disease states and conditions including asthma, sepsis and myocardial infarction.
Analysis of the similar gene in mouse suggested that the IL1RL1 receptor can be induced by proinflammatory stimuli, and may be involved in the function of helper T cells.

Interleukin 13 Receptor, Alpha 2 (IL13RA2) is a member of the type I cytokine receptor family, Type 5 subfamily. IL13RA2 is related to l13RA1, a subunit of the interleukin 13 receptor complex. IL13RA2 binds IL13 with high affinity, though lacking the cytoplasmic domain, and does not appear to function as a signal mediator. IL13RA2 plays a role in the internalization of IL13.

Platelet factor-4 is a 70-amino acid protein that is released from the alpha-granules of activated platelets . Its major physiologic role appears to be neutralization of molecules on the endothelial surface of blood vessels, thereby inhibiting local antithrombin III activity and promoting coagulation. As a strong chemoattractant for neutrophils and fibroblasts, PF4 probably has a role in inflammation and wound repair. Oncostatin-A is a member of the CXC chemocinfamily. Human PF4 is used for the proof of induced thrombocytopenia. Furthermore it is used as an inhibitor in the angiogenesis during tumor therapy.

Interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-1 (IL13RA1) is a subunit of the interleukin 13 receptor. The IL13RA1 subunit forms a receptor complex with IL4 receptor alpha, which is a subunit shared by IL13 and IL4 receptors. IL13RA1 binds tyrosine kinase TYK2, and thus may mediate the signaling processes which leads to the activation of JAK1, STAT3 and STAT6 induced by IL13 and IL4. IL13RA1 is vital for allergen-induced airway hyperactivity and mucus hypersecretion.

The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that regulates T and natural killer cell activation and proliferation. This cytokine and interleukine 2 share many biological activities. They are found to bind common hematopoietin receptor subunits, and may compete for the same receptor, and thus negatively regulate each other's activity. The number of CD8+ memory cells is shown to be controlled by a balance between this cytokine and IL2. This cytokine induces the activation of JAK kinases, as well as the phosphorylation and activation of transcription activators STAT3, STAT5, and STAT6. Studies of the mouse counterpart suggested that this cytokine may increase the expression of apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL-x(L), possibly through the transcription activation activity of STAT6, and thus prevent apoptosis. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encoding the same protein have been reported.

Interleukin 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-1b is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine produced by a wide variety of cell types including monocytes and macrophages. It displays a broad range of biological activity including activation of B and T cells in response to inflammation and the activation of endothelial cells.

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.

IL-21 is produced by CD4+ T cells in response to antigenic stimulation. Its action enhances antigen-specific responses of immune cells. The biological effects of IL-21 include induction of differentiation of T-cells-stimulated B-cells into plasma cells and memory B-cells, stimulation (in conjuction) with IL-4 of IgG production, and induction of apoptotic effects in naive B-cells and stimulated B-cells in the absence of T-cell signaling. Additionally, IL-21 promotes the anti-tumor activity of CD8+ T-cells and NK cells. IL-21 exerts its effect through binding to a specific type I cytokine receptor, IL-21R, which also contains the gamma chain (°C) found in other cytokine receptors including IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9 and IL-15. The IL-21/IL-21R interaction triggers a cascade of events which includes activation of the tyrosine kinases JAK1 and JAK3, followed by activation of the transcription factors STAT1 and STAT3.

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 by inflammation, 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.

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 5 (CXCL5) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that is also known as epithelial-derived neutrophil-activating peptide 78 (ENA-78). It is produced following stimulation of cells with the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 or tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Expression of CXCL5 has also been observed in eosinophils. This chemokine stimulates the chemotaxis of neutrophils possesses angiogenic properties. It elicits these effects by interacting with the cell surface chemokine receptor CXCR2. The gene for CXCL5 is encoded on four exons and is located on human chromosome 4 amongst several other CXC chemokine genes. CXCL5 has been implicated in connective tissue remodelling.

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.

Interleukin 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-21 isoform 1 or IL21, categorized as a T helper cytokine. IL21 is part of the regulation of immune responses, haematopoiesis and cell-mediated responses. IL21 has a key role in haematopoiesis and immune responses regulation, therefore can affect lymphocyte development. Activation of T cells leads to production of the IL21. The protein has a crucial role in the viral infections persistence.

IL3RA, also known as Interleukin 3 Receptor Subunit Alpha, is a single-pass type 1 membrane protein which is a member of the type 1 cytokine receptor family as well as type 5 subfamily. IL3RA is a pleiotropic cytokine which is produced mainly by activated T cells or mast cells. Moreover, the specific alpha subunit of the interleukin 3 receptor is strongly expressed in a variety of leukemic blasts as well as leukemic stem cells and appears to be a great target for the therapy of leukemias.

IL11 is a member of the gp130 family of cytokines. These cytokines drive the assembly of multisubunit receptor complexes, all of which contain at least one molecule of the transmembrane signaling receptor IL6ST (gp130). IL-11 is shown to stimulate the T-cell-dependent development of immunoglobulin-producing B cells. It is also found to support the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells and megakaryocyte progenitor cells.

Interleukin-10 is a multifunctional cytokine produced by a variety of cell types including T helper cells activated B cells and activated macrophages. Interleukin-10 regulates immune-mediated inflammation and modulates the function of cells such as lymphocytes, monocytes, natural killer cells and dendritic cells.

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.

IL13 is an immunoregulatory cytokine produced primarily by activated Th2 cells. IL-13 is involved in several stages of B-cell maturation and differentiation. It up-regulates CD23 and MHC class II expression, and promotes IgE isotype switching of B cells. This cytokine down-regulates macrophage activity, thereby inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. This cytokine is found to be critical to the pathogenesis of allergen-induced asthma but operates through mechanisms independent of IgE and eosinophils. This gene, IL3, IL5, IL4, and CSF2 form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 5q, with this gene particularly close to IL4.

Interleukin-1b is produced by activated macrophages, IL-1B stimulates thymocyte proliferation by inducing il-2 release, b-cell maturation and proliferation, and fibroblast growth factor activity. IL1B proteins are involved in the inflammatory response, being identified as endogenous pyrogens, and are reported to stimulate the release of prostaglandin from synovial cells.

The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that acts as a growth and differentiation factor for both B cells and eosinophils. This cytokine is a main regulator of eosinopoiesis, eosinophil maturation and activation. The elevated production of this cytokine is reported to be related to asthma or hypereosinophilic syndromes. The receptor of this cytokine is a heterodimer, whose beta subunit is shared with the receptors for interleukine 3 (IL3) and colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2/GM-CSF). This gene, together with those for interleukin 4 (IL4), interleukin 13 (IL13), and CSF2, form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 5. This cytokine, IL4, and IL13 are found to be regulated coordinately by long-range regulatory elements spread over 120 kilobases on chromosome 5q31.

IL-28A is distantly related to type I interferons and the IL-10 family. Expression of IL-28A is induced by viral infection which interacts with a heterodimeric class II cytokine receptor that consists of interleukin 10 receptor, beta (IL10RB) and interleukin 28 receptor, alpha. IL-28A exhibits common features with type I IFNs such as antiviral activity, antiproliferative activity and in vivo antitumour activity.
IL-28A acts similarly to IFNs, but is less effective generally and has activity in a more limited range of cell lines. IFN-ambda 1, IFN-lambda 2 and IFN-lambda 3 are closely positioned genes on human chromosome 19.
IL-28A induces ELR(-) CXC chemokine mRNA in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, in an IFN-gamma-independent manner.
IL-28A is able to generate tolerogenic DCs, an activity that could thwart IFN-beta functions. IL-28A produced in response to viral infection, activates both monocytes and macrophages producing a restricted panel of cytokines and therefore is an important factor in activating innate immune responses at the site of viral infection.

IL4 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells. IL4 is a ligand for interleukin 4 receptor. The interleukin 4 receptor also binds to IL13, which may contribute to many overlapping functions of this cytokine and IL13. STAT6, a signal transducer and activator of transcription, has been shown to play a central role in mediating the immune regulatory signal of this cytokine. This gene, IL3, IL5, IL13, and CSF2 form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 5q, with this gene particularly close to IL13. IL4, IL13 and IL5 are found to be regulated coordinately by several long-range regulatory elements in an over 120 kilobase range on the chromosome. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encoding distinct isoforms have been reported.