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Official Full Name: interleukin 15
Also known as: IL-15
The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that regulates the activation and proliferation of T cells and natural killer cells. This cytokine shares many biological activities with interleukin-2. They were found to bind a common hematopoietin receptor subunit and may compete for the same receptor, thereby negatively regulating each other's activity. The number of CD8+ memory cells was shown to be controlled by the balance between this cytokine and IL-2. This cytokine induces the activation of JAK kinases, as well as the phosphorylation and activation of the transcriptional activators STAT3, STAT5 and STAT6. Studies of the mouse counterpart indicated that this cytokine may prevent apoptosis by increasing the expression of the apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL-x(L) through the transcriptional activation activity of STAT6. Alternative splicing transcript variants of this gene have been reported.