Interleukin 9

Interleukin 9
Identifiers
Symbols	IL9 ; HP40; IL-9; P40
External IDs	OMIM: 146931 MGI: 96563 HomoloGene: 492 GeneCards: IL9 Gene
Gene ontology Molecular function • cytokine activity • interleukin-9 receptor binding • growth factor activity Cellular component • extracellular space Biological process • inflammatory response • immune response • positive regulation of cell proliferation • positive regulation of cell growth • positive regulation of interleukin-5 biosynthetic process Sources: Amigo / QuickGO
RNA expression pattern
File:PBB GE IL9 208193 at tn.png
More reference expression data
Orthologs
Species	Human	Mouse
Entrez	3578	16198
Ensembl	ENSG00000145839	ENSMUSG00000021538
UniProt	P15248	P15247
RefSeq (mRNA)	NM_000590	NM_008373
RefSeq (protein)	NP_000581	NP_032399
Location (UCSC)	Chr 5: 135.89 – 135.9 Mb	Chr 13: 56.48 – 56.48 Mb
PubMed search	[1]	[2]

Interleukin 9, also known as IL-9, is a cytokine (cell signalling molecule) belonging to the group of interleukins.

Function

The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine produced by T-cells and specifically by CD4+ helper cells that acts as a regulator of a variety of hematopoietic cells. This cytokine stimulates cell proliferation and prevents apoptosis. It functions through the interleukin-9 receptor (IL9R), which activates different signal transducer and activator (STAT) proteins and thus connects this cytokine to various biological processes. The gene encoding this cytokine has been identified as a candidate gene for asthma. Genetic studies on a mouse model of asthma demonstrated that this cytokine is a determining factor in the pathogenesis of bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Interleukin-9 has also shown to inhibit melanoma growth in mice.