Interleukin 10
Interleukin-10 (IL-10), also known as human cytokine synthesis inhibitory factor (CSIF), is an anti-inflammatory cytokine. In humans, IL-10 is encoded by the IL10 gene. IL-10 signals through a receptor complex consisting of two IL-10 receptor-1 and two IL-10 receptor 2 proteins. Consequently, the functional receptor consists of four IL-10 receptor molecules. IL-10 binding induces STAT3 signalling via the phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic tails of IL-10 receptor 1 + IL-10 receptor 2 by JAK1 and Tyk2 respectively.
Gene and protein structure
The IL-10 protein is a homodimer; each of its subunits is 178-amino-acid long.
IL-10 is classified as a class-2 cytokine, a set of cytokines including IL-19, IL-20, IL-22, IL-24 (Mda-7), and IL-26, interferons (IFN-alpha, -beta, -epsilon, -kappa, -omega, -delta, -tau, and -gamma) and interferon-like molecules (limitin, IL-28A, IL-28B, and IL-29).
Expression and synthesis
