IL-15 Monoclonal Antibody (ct2nu), Functional Grade, eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Mouse Monoclonal Antibody

The ct2nu MAb reacts with human IL-15 and neutralizes its bioactivity. IL-15, or IL-T, is a 14 kDa proinflammatory cytokine and member of the IL-2 family. It plays a role in the development and maturation of macrophages and dendritic cells, and is essential to the proliferation and survival of NK cells and CD8^+ T cells. IL-15 is expressed by antigen-presenting cells, epithelial cells, and stromal cells. IL-15 activates the Jak/STAT pathway through its heterotrimeric receptor. Two subunits of this receptor, the beta and gamma chains, are shared with the rest of the family, while the alpha subunit is unique to IL-15. In mice, the alpha chain is required to chaperone IL-15 from the ER to secretion. This chaperoning is not necessary in humans, and free IL-15 is detectable in human biological samples. However, the receptor-cytokine complex has been indentified in humans and demonstrates agonistic activity several-fold higher than IL-15 alone.