Interleukin 18

Interleukin 18 (interferon-gamma-inducing factor)
Solution structure of human IL-18
Available structures: 1j0s
Identifiers
Symbol(s)	IL18; IGIF; IL-18; IL-1g; IL1F4; MGC12320
External IDs	OMIM: 600953 MGI: 107936 Homologene: 1200
Gene Ontology Molecular Function: • signal transducer activity • interleukin-1 receptor binding Cellular Component: • extracellular region • extracellular space Biological Process: • angiogenesis • immune response • cell-cell signaling • induction of apoptosis via death domain receptors • regulation of cell adhesion • sleep • chemokine biosynthetic process • T-helper 1 type immune response • T-helper 2 type immune response • interleukin-2 biosynthetic process • interferon-gamma biosynthetic process • positive regulation of activated T cell proliferation • interleukin-13 biosynthetic process • granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor biosynthetic process
RNA expression pattern
Additional recommended knowledge Recognize and detect the effects of electrostatic charges on your balance Daily Sensitivity Test Essential Laboratory Skills Guide More reference expression data
Orthologs
	Human	Mouse
Entrez	3606	16173
Ensembl	ENSG00000150782	ENSMUSG00000039217
Uniprot	Q14116	A0PJ18
Refseq	NM_001562 (mRNA) NP_001553 (protein)	NM_008360 (mRNA) NP_032386 (protein)
Location	Chr 11: 111.52 - 111.54 Mb	Chr 9: 50.33 - 50.33 Mb
Pubmed search	[1]	[2]

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a cytokine produced by macrophages and other cells that belongs to the IL-1 superfamily. IL-18 works together with IL-12 to induce cell-mediated immunity following infection with microbial products like lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After stimulation with IL-18, natural killer (NK) cells and certain T cells release another important cytokine called interferon-γ (IFN-γ) or type II interferon that plays an important role in activating the macrophages or other cells. Apart from its physiological role, IL-18 is also able to induce severe inflammatory reactions, which suggests its role in certain inflammatory disorders.

The protein encoded by this gene is a proinflammatory cytokine. This cytokine can induce the IFN-gamma production of T cells. The combination of this cytokine and IL12 has been shown to inhibit IL4 dependent IgE and IgG1 production, and enhance IgG2a production of B cells. IL-18 binding protein (IL18BP) can specifically interact with this cytokine, and thus negatively regulate its biological activity.^[1]

References

Further reading