Interleukin 15 receptor, alpha subunit
Encyclopedia
Interleukin 15 receptor, alpha subunit is a subunit of the interleukin 15 receptor which is encoded by the gene
IL15RA in humans.
The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine receptor that specifically binds IL15 with high affinity. The receptors of IL15 and IL2 share two subunits, the IL2R beta and IL2R gamma chains. This forms the basis of many overlapping biological activities of IL15 and IL2. The IL2 receptor requires an additional IL2-specific alpha subunit for high affinity IL2 binding. This protein is structurally related to IL2R alpha, but is capable of binding IL-15 with high affinity independent of other subunits, which suggests the distinct roles between IL-15 and IL-2. This receptor is reported to enhance cell proliferation and expression of apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL2-XL and BCL2. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been reported. The full length sequences of only two variants encoding distinct isoforms are available.
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
IL15RA in humans.
The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine receptor that specifically binds IL15 with high affinity. The receptors of IL15 and IL2 share two subunits, the IL2R beta and IL2R gamma chains. This forms the basis of many overlapping biological activities of IL15 and IL2. The IL2 receptor requires an additional IL2-specific alpha subunit for high affinity IL2 binding. This protein is structurally related to IL2R alpha, but is capable of binding IL-15 with high affinity independent of other subunits, which suggests the distinct roles between IL-15 and IL-2. This receptor is reported to enhance cell proliferation and expression of apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL2-XL and BCL2. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been reported. The full length sequences of only two variants encoding distinct isoforms are available.