IL-21

IL21, Interleukin-21

IL?21 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by CD4+ T cells in response to antigenic stimulation. Its action generally enhances antigen?specific responses of immune cells. The biological effects of IL?21 include: inducing the differentiation of T cell?stimulated B cells into plasma cells and memory B cells; the stimulation of IgG production in conjunction with IL?4; and the induction of apoptotic effects in naïve 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 (gammac) 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. Recombinant Rat IL?21 is a 15.3 kDa protein containing 130 amino acid residues.

130

365769

NM_001108943.2