Invitrogen™ Human IL-29 (IFN lambda 1) Uncoated ELISA Kit

IFN-lambdas constitute a novel family of interferons that mediate the induction of anti-viral protection in a wide variety of cells. There are three members in this family, namely lambda1, lambda2, and lambda3, which are also known as IL-29, IL-28A, and IL-28B, respectively. Similar to type I IFNs, IFN-lambdas activate an intracellular signaling to promote gene expression. IFN-lambdas mediate their anti-viral protection through a class II cytokine receptor complex composed of two essential receptor proteins, CRF2-12/IFN-lambdaR1, which is unique to IFN-lambdas, and CFR2-4/IL-10R2, which is shared with IL-10, IL-22, and IL-26 receptors. The IFN-lambdas, IL-28 and IL-29, have recently been reported to prime dendritic cells to induce proliferation of Foxp3-bearing regulatory T cells. DCs that differentiate in response to IFN-lambdas express high levels of class I and II MHC gene products, but low levels of costimulatory molecules. Moreover, these cells can specifically induce IL-2-dependent proliferation of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ T cells with contact-dependent suppressive activity.