This gene was identified by the induction of its expression in B lymphocytes by Epstein-Barr virus infection. The protein encoded by this gene is a secreted glycoprotein, which is a member of the hematopoietin receptor family related to the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL-12). It plays a role in regulating cell-mediated immune responses.[3]
EBI3 is a subunit in 2 distinct heterodimericcytokines: interleukin-27 (IL27) and IL35. IL27 is composed of p28 (IL27) and EBI3. IL27 can trigger signaling in T cells, B cells, and myeloid cells.[4] IL35, an inhibitory cytokine involved in regulatory T-cell function, is composed of EBI3 and the p35 subunit of IL12.[3][5]
↑ 3.03.1Collison LW, Workman CJ, Kuo TT, Boyd K, Wang Y, Vignali KM, Cross R, Sehy D, Blumberg RS, Vignali DA (November 2007). "The inhibitory cytokine IL-35 contributes to regulatory T-cell function". Nature. 450 (7169): 566–9. doi:10.1038/nature06306. PMID18033300.
↑Batten M, Li J, Yi S, Kljavin NM, Danilenko DM, Lucas S, Lee J, de Sauvage FJ, Ghilardi N (September 2006). "Interleukin 27 limits autoimmune encephalomyelitis by suppressing the development of interleukin 17-producing T cells". Nat. Immunol. 7 (9): 929–36. doi:10.1038/ni1375. PMID16906167.
↑Niedbala W, Wei XQ, Cai B, Hueber AJ, Leung BP, McInnes IB, Liew FY (November 2007). "IL-35 is a novel cytokine with therapeutic effects against collagen-induced arthritis through the expansion of regulatory T cells and suppression of Th17 cells". Eur. J. Immunol. 37 (11): 3021–9. doi:10.1002/eji.200737810. PMID17874423.
Larousserie F, Pflanz S, Coulomb-L'Herminé A, et al. (2004). "Expression of IL-27 in human Th1-associated granulomatous diseases". J. Pathol. 202 (2): 164–71. doi:10.1002/path.1508. PMID14743498.
Grimwood J, Gordon LA, Olsen A, et al. (2004). "The DNA sequence and biology of human chromosome 19". Nature. 428 (6982): 529–35. doi:10.1038/nature02399. PMID15057824.
Gehlert T, Devergne O, Niedobitek G (2004). "Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and expression of the interleukin-12 family member EBV-induced gene 3 (EBI3) in chronic inflammatory bowel disease". J. Med. Virol. 73 (3): 432–8. doi:10.1002/jmv.20109. PMID15170639.
Rual JF, Venkatesan K, Hao T, et al. (2005). "Towards a proteome-scale map of the human protein-protein interaction network". Nature. 437 (7062): 1173–8. doi:10.1038/nature04209. PMID16189514.