Uses
Extracellular Death Factor (ECF) is the dramatic name given to an interesting linear pentapeptide produced by E. coli, first identified by Engelberg-Kulka and colleagues in 2007 and published in Science. ECF acts as a quorum sensing agent, regulating bacterial cell density by balancing the levels of toxin and antitoxin via mazEF-mediated cell death genes.
General Description
IL-5 (interleukin 5) is a Th2 (T helper 2) cytokine that is predominantly produced by T lymphocytes, and to a lower extent by mast cells, type 2 innate lymphoid (ILC2) cells, and eosinophils.
Recombinant murine IL-5 is a 26.2kDa disulfide-linked homodimeric protein containing two 113 amino acid chains.
Biochem/physiol Actions
IL-5 (interleukin 5) was initially identified as a stimulant of antibody production by activated B cells. It has recently been shown to be a key factor in eosinophil differentiation and proliferation. It is also implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma, atopy, hypereosinophilic syndromes, and parasitic infections. In distal lung, IL-5 recruits eosinophils and modulates inflammatory or immune cells in the microenvironment, thus, promoting lung metastasis in cancer.
