Introduction
IL-12 is a Th1-type cytokine composed of two subunits p35 and p40. It has a wide range of immunoregulatory effects. It is mainly composed of antigen-presenting cells such as monocytes, macrophages, B cells, and dendritic cells. IL-12 mainly mediates cellular immunity, activates natural killer (NK) cells, enhances phytohemagglutinin (PHA) -induced lymphoblast proliferation, and promotes the differentiation of CD4 + initial T cells (Th0) into helper T cells (Th1).It can also promote the synthesis of interferon γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-2, inhibit Th2 synthesis of IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10, and selectively inhibit the induction of IL-4 Immunoglobulin E (IgE) synthesis. In addition, IL-12 can induce the production of other cytokines and exert a strong biological function, which plays an important role in inflammation and anti-tumor immunity.
Mechanism and Function
The IL-12 receptor is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein. It consists of two polypeptide chains, β1 and β2. The β1 chain binds to the p40 subunit, and the β2 chain can bind to the structure in the p35 subunit or heterodimer. Any a single subunit binds to its ligand with low affinity. Only when the two are co-expressed can IL-12 high-affinity binding sites be generated. IL-12Rβ2 allows IL-12 to interact with its receptor during signal transduction, activates the mutual phosphorylated kinases (Janus Kinase) JAK2 and TYK2, recruits STAT, and causes it to undergo phosphorylation under the action of kinases JAK2 and TYK2. Then phosphorylated STAT4 forms a homodimer in the cytoplasm and enters the nucleus, regulating the expression of the gene of interest.
IL-12 has strong activity in anti-tumor and anti-tumor angiogenesis. The anti-tumor angiogenesis ability of IL-12 is the secretion of IFN-γ, and low doses of IFN-γ can play an anti-tumor angiogenesis. IL-12 is a powerful anti-tumor cytokine. Its antitumor effect is dose-dependent, but large doses of IL-12 have toxic and side effects in inflammation. In addition, IL-12 also has a certain therapeutic effect on allergic rhinitis (AR).
In the clinic, the serum levels of IL-12 and IL-12p40 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are also lower than those in normal people. The expression level of IL-12 is negatively correlated with the activity of SLE disease. So IL-12 can be used as a reference index to evaluate the disease activity of SLE patients.
IL-12 is considered as a NK cell stimulating factor and has a strong immunomodulatory effect. It is known to play a significant role in Th1 cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, especially organ-specific autoimmune diseases.
Fig 1. Mechanism of Signaling
Creative Proteomics can provide cytokine detection platform for scientific research. According to different purposes, our dedicated analysts will customize exclusive solutions for you. We aim to provide customers with high-quality and convenient services to help you accelerate the progress of your project.
Our cytokine detection service includes but is not limited to:
- Quantitative and qualitative detection of cytokines in different species
- Quantitative and qualitative detection of cytokine antibodies
- Quantitative and qualitative detection of single/mulltiple cytokines
Sample requirements
- Sample Types-Blood, serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, cell culture supernatant, tissue homogenate, cell culture medium, urine, tumor, etc.
- Sample Volume - It is optimal for at least 200µl of each sample. This volume allows for triplicate testing of each sample.
Our advantages:
- Efficient design: Multiplex reaction detecting in various methods are available, which can be selected according to different samples and requirements.
- Sensitive detection: High-quality antibodies are used in the detection process to improve detection specificity and accuracy.
- Reliable results: The feedback results are professional and efficient.
Technology platform:
We mainly provide the Luminex cytokine detection platform. Luminex uses fluorescently encoded microspheres with specific antibodies to different target molecules. The different microspheres can be combined freely to a certain extent so that up to 100 analytes can be tested multiple times simultaneously in a single experiment.
The Luminex cytokine assay platform has the following advantages:
- Multiple detection: simultaneous detection of 100 biological targets
- Short experiment time: 1-3 weeks
- High sensitivity: the lower limit of accurate quantification is as low as 0.1 pg/mL
- Save samples: only need a sample volume as low as 25 μL
- Time saving: the experiment process only takes 4 hours
For your different needs, we can also provide the following detection methods:
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
- Flow cytometry
Workflow
For more information about the IL-12 detection service or need other detection requirements, please contact us.
References:
- Trinchieri G , Pflanz S , et al. The IL-12 family of heterodimeric cytokines: new players in the regulation of T cell responses. Immunity, 2003, 19(5):641-644.
- Macatonia S E , Hosken N A, et al. Dendritic cells produce IL-12 and direct the development of Th1 cells from naive CD4+ T cells. The Journal of Immunology, 1995, 154(10):5071-5079.
