Description
Interleukin 10 receptor, alpha subunit (IL-10 Rα), also known as IL10RA and CDw210a, is a subunit for the interleukin-10 receptor (IL-10 R). IL-10 Rα has been shown to mediate the immunosuppressive signal of IL-10 (1). IL-10 is a pleiotropic cytokine that regulates multiple immune responses through actions on T cells, B cells, macrophage/monocytes and antigen presenting cells (APC) and generally skews the immune response from TH1 to TH2. It may suppress immune responses by inhibiting expression of IL-1a, IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a, GM-CSF and G-CSF in activated monocytes and activated macrophages. IL-10 also suppresses IFN-γ production by NK cells. The biological effects of IL-10 are mediated through binding to the IL-10 receptor complex, which belongs to the class II cytokine receptor family (2). The IL-10 R complex is a heterodimer comprising of IL-10 Rα and IL-10 Rβ, which is shared by cytokine receptors for IL-22, IL-28 and IL-29. The IL-10 R is expressed on the majority of leukocytes including T cells, NK cells, macrophage/monocytes, B cells, neutrophils and dendritic cells. This receptor is reported to promote survival of progenitor myeloid cells through the insulin receptor substrate-2/PI 3-kinase/AKT pathway (3). Activation of IL-10 R also leads to tyrosine phosphorylation of JAK1 and TYK2 kinases (4)