IL-4 Antibody [1.3_4F11-2G3]

Background:

IL4 is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by activated T cells, mast cells and basophils. It 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. IL4 elicits many different biological responses, but has two dominant functions. The first is regulating differentiation of naïve CD4+ T cell to the Th2 type. Th2 cells produce IL4, IL5, IL10 and IL13, which tend to favor a humoral immune response while suppressing a cell mediated immune response controlled by Th1 cells. 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. The second is regulating IgE and IgG1 production by B cells. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene encoding distinct isoforms have been reported.