Analysis Affinity of Antibodies to hIL-13Rα1 by KinExA (CAT#: STEM-MB-0008-CJ)

Introduction

Asthma is a heterogeneous and chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that is characterized by airway inflammation, reversible airway obstruction, mucus hypersecretion, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway wall remodelling.In a significant proportion of patients, the disease manifests as an allergic hypersensitivity dominated by an immune response polarized to the TH2 phenotype. This activation results in the secretion of TH2 cytokines [IL (interleukin) -4, IL-13 and IL-5] that either directly or indirectly trigger many of the pathologies associated with this disease including IgE production, eosinophilia, mucus secretion by lung epithelial cells and airway smooth muscle hyper-responsiveness.

IL-13 can bind to and activate a receptor complexmade up of IL-13Rα1 (IL-13 receptor α1) and IL-4Rα (IL-4 receptor α). Several lines of evidence suggest that IL-13 and IL-13Rα1 are critically involved in asthmatic responses. Genetic studies in mice have shown that IL-13 plays critical roles in the regulation of IgE synthesis, mucus hypersecretion, sub-epithelial fibrosis and eosinophil infiltration into the lung, and it has been associated with the regulation of chemokine receptors including CCR5 (CC chemokine receptor 5).