Interleukin 23 Subunit Alpha (IL23a)

Interleukin 23 (IL-23) is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of two disulfide-linked subunits, a p19 subunit that is unique to IL-23, and a p40 subunit that is shared with IL-12. The p19 subunit has homology to the p35 subunit of IL-12, as well as to other single chain cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-11. The p40 subunit is homologous to the extracellular domains of the hematopoietic cytokine receptors. Rat p19 cDNA encodes a 189 amino acid residue (aa) precursor protein with a putative 19 aa signal peptide and 170 aa mature protein. Rat and mouse p19 share 70% aa sequence identity. Although p19 is expressed by activated macrophages, dendritic cells, T cells, and endothelial cells, only activated macrophages and dendritic cells express p40 concurrently to produce IL-23.