Interleukin 4

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Crystal structure of human IL-4
interleukin 4
Identifiers
Symbol	IL4
HUGO	6014
Entrez	3565
OMIM	147780
RefSeq	NM_000589
UniProt	P05112
PDB	2INT
Other data
Locus	Chr. 5 q23-q31

Interleukin-4, abbreviated IL-4, is a cytokine secreted by Th2 cells. It has many biological roles, including the stimulation of activated B-cell and T-cell proliferation, and the differentiation of CD4+ T-cells into Th2 cells. It is a key regulator in humoral and adaptive immunity. IL-4 induces B-cell class switching to IgE, and up-regulates MHC class II production. This cytokine was co-discovered by Maureen Howard and William Paul and by Dr. Ellen Vitetta and her research group in 1982. The nucleotide sequence for human IL-4 was isolated four years later confirming its similarity to a mouse protein called B-cell stimulatory factor-1 (BCSF-1).^[1]

[edit] References

^ Yokota et al., Isolation and characterization of a human interleukin cDNA clone, homologous to mouse B-cell stimulatory factor 1, that expresses B-cell- and T-cell-stimulating activities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 1986, Volume 83, pages 5894-5898.