Interleukin 21

IL21
Available structures
PDB	Ortholog search: PDBe RCSB
List of PDB id codes
	2OQP, 3TGX
Identifiers
Aliases	IL21, CVID11, IL-21, Za11, interleukin 21
External IDs	OMIM: 605384; MGI: 1890474; HomoloGene: 11032; GeneCards: IL21; OMA:IL21 - orthologs
Gene location (Human)
Chr.	Chromosome 4 (human)
End	122,621,066 bp
Gene location (Mouse)
Chr.	Chromosome 3 (mouse)
End	37,286,785 bp
RNA expression pattern
	Top expressed in
	testicle; ; lymph node; ; appendix; ; buccal mucosa cell; ; tonsil; ; rectum; ; urinary bladder; ; left testis; ; right testis; ; gallbladder;
	Top expressed in
	spermatocyte; ; spermatid; ; mesenteric lymph nodes; ; thymus; ; triceps brachii muscle; ; submandibular gland; ; anterior horn of spinal cord; ; central gray substance of midbrain;
	More reference expression data
	More reference expression data
Gene ontology
Molecular function	cytokine activity; interleukin-2 receptor binding; cytokine receptor binding;
Cellular component	intracellular anatomical structure; extracellular space; extracellular region;
Biological process	positive regulation of inflammatory response; positive regulation of cytokine production; cell maturation; positive regulation of B cell proliferation; positive regulation of tissue remodeling; positive regulation of T cell proliferation; immune response; positive regulation of cell population proliferation; positive regulation of interleukin-17 production; positive regulation of natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity; signal transduction; tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT protein; positive regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT protein; regulation of signaling receptor activity; interleukin-21-mediated signaling pathway;
	Sources:Amigo / QuickGO
Orthologs
	59067
	60505
	ENSG00000138684
	ENSMUSG00000027718
	Q9HBE4
	Q9ES17
	NM_021803; NM_001207006
	NM_021782; NM_001291041
	NP_001193935; NP_068575
	NP_001277970; NP_068554
	Wikidata
View/Edit Human	View/Edit Mouse

Interleukin 21 (IL-21) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IL21 gene.

Interleukin-21 is a cytokine that has potent regulatory effects on cells of the immune system, including natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells that can destroy virally infected or cancerous cells. This cytokine induces cell division/proliferation in its target cells.