Background of the antigen
The pleiotropic IL3 (Interleukin 3) is a 15kDa cytokine that is primarily secreted by activated T lymphocytes and stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. IL3 acts in hematopoiesis by controlling the production, differentiation, and function of two related white cell populations of the blood, the granulocytes and the monocytes/macrophages. It induces granulocytes, macrophages, mast cells, stem cells, erythroid cells, eosinophils and megakaryocytes and is expressed by activated T cells, mast cells, and natural killer cells. IL3 not only supports growth of both pluripotent stem cells and the more differentiated committed progenitors, but it also stimulates the functional activity of some fully differentiated cells. IL3 has also been shown to protect mast cells from undergoing apoptosis.
