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Structural model of human IL‐13 defines the spatial interactions with the IL‐13Rα/IL‐4Rα receptor
Author(s) -
Zuegg J,
Webb DC,
Foster PS,
Casarotto MG
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-1711.2001.01035.x
Subject(s) - helix (gastropod) , receptor , alpha helix , chemistry , protein structure , stereochemistry , biology , biochemistry , ecology , snail
Interleukin‐13 (IL‐13) plays a key role in immune responses and inflammation. A structural model of human IL‐13 ( Hu IL‐13) based on the nuclear magnetic resonance and X‐ray structure of IL‐4 is put forward. Unlike previous models, this model is based on new sequence alignments that take into account the formation of the two disulfide linkages that have been determined experimentally. The proposed structure of human IL‐13 is similar to IL‐4, consisting of a four helix bundle with hydrophobic residues lining the core of the molecule and surface polar residues showing a high degree of solvent accessibility. Regions of Hu IL‐13 that are critical for the interaction with its receptors are explored and discussed in relation to existing mutagenic studies. From these studies we predict that helices A and C of Hu IL‐13 interact with the IL‐4 receptor alpha (IL‐4Rα) region and helix D is responsible for the interaction with the IL‐13 receptor alpha 1 (IL‐13Rα1) receptor.