Merck, I2644-5X10UG, Interleukin-2 human

General description
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an α-helical cytokine belonging to T-helper cell type 1. It has a molecular weight of 15kDa. The IL2 gene is mapped to human chromosome 4q27. IL-2 is originally called as T cell growth factor.
Application
Interleukin-2 human has been used:
in the stimulation of natural killer cells
to study its ability to stimulate lymphocyte growth and prevent apoptosis
as an antigen in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), to analyse the human autoantibody reactivities in health and in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Biochem/physiol Actions
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is essential for proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells, lymphocytes and macrophages. It plays a key role in the immune system functions such as NK cell-stimulated immune responses. IL-2 also mediates the essential functions of regulatory T cells. It is implicated in autoimmune disease. IL-2 is associated with apoptosis and thus, possesses antitumor response. It mediates CD41+ T-cells differentiation into T-helper cell 1 and 2 effector subsets, preventing T-helper 17 differentiation.
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an immunomodulatory factor produced by certain subsets of T lymphocytes. This lympho­kine promotes long term growth of acti­vated T cells and related cell types. IL-2 plays a role in the activation and proliferation of NK cells, induces γ-inter­feron and B cell growth factor secretion, and modulates the expression of the IL-2 receptor.
Physical form
Lyophilized, 0.2 μm filtered, no additives.
Analysis Note
The biological activity is measured by the dose-dependent stimulation of the proliferation of murine CTLL-2 cells.