title: Interleukin 12 a key immunoregulatory cytokine in infection applications.
abstract: Interleukin 12 (termed IL-12p70 and commonly designated IL-12) is an important immunoregulatory cytokine that is produced mainly by antigen-presenting cells. The expression of IL-12 during infection regulates innate responses and determines the type of adaptive immune responses. IL-12 induces interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production and triggers CD4(+) T cells to differentiate into type 1 T helper (Th1) cells. Studies have suggested that IL-12 could play a vital role in treating many diseases, such as viral and bacterial infections and cancers. The unique heterodimeric structure, which IL-12 shares with its family members including IL-23, IL-27, and IL-35, has recently brought more attention to understanding the mechanisms that regulate the functions of IL-12. This article describes the structure and biological activities of IL-12 in both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, and discusses the applications of IL-12 in treating and preventing infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, 26506, USA. thamza@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Therwa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamza
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: Bingyun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018664:Interleukin-12