Description
Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is a pleiotropic, immune-modulatory cytokine produced by activated T cells, and serves as a ligand for interleukin 4 receptor. IL-4 has been found to have the broadest range of actions. 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 an important role in mediating the immune regulatory signal of IL-4. The IL-4 gene, IL-3, IL-5, IL-13, and CSF2 form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 5q. In particular, IL-4 is located in close proximity to IL13 on the chromosome. Further, the IL-4 gene, IL13 and IL5 are found to be coordinated by several long-range regulatory elements over a 120 kilobase range on the chromosome. IL-4 delta 2 is a known splice variant of IL-4.