Description
Interleukin-17D (IL-17D) is a disulfide-linked homodimer and secreted cytokine with homology to the IL17 family of proteins. The six known members of this family are IL-17A through IL-17F. Two receptors, IL-17 R and IL-17B R, which are activated by IL-17 family members, have been identified (1). IL-17D has the ability to stimulate the production of IL-6, IL-8 and GM-CSF, as well as inhibit hemopoiesis of myeloid progenitor cells in colony forming assays (2). The increased expression of IL-8 induced by this cytokine was found to be NF-κB-dependent. IL-17D is preferentially expressed in skeletal muscle, brain, adipose tissue, heart, lung, and pancreas (2). It is also expressed in resting CD4+ T cells and C19+ B cells (3)