IL-13 Variant

IL-13 is an immunoregulatory cytokine produced primarily by activated Th2 cells, and also by mast cells and NK cells. Targeted deletion of IL-13 in mice resulted in impaired Th2 cell development and indicated an important role for IL-13 in the expulsion of gastrointestinal parasites. IL-13 exerts anti-inflammatory effects on monocytes and macrophages and it inhibits the expression of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8. IL-13 has also been shown to enhance B cell proliferation and to induce isotype switching resulting in increased production of IgE. Blocking of IL-13 activity inhibits the pathophysiology of asthma. Human and murine IL-13 is cross-species reactive. A variant of IL-13 shows enhanced functional activity compared with the wild type IL-13. The genetic variant, termed human IL-13 analog, is a mature 114 amino acid protein with a substitution of Q for R at position 112.