Interleukin-12 (IL12; formerly NKSF, for natural killer cell stimulatory factor, or CLMF, for cytotoxic lymphocyte maturation factor) is a novel cytokine cloned from B-cell lines. It has a broad array of potent biologic activities, acting at picomolar and subpicomolar levels on both T and NK cells. IL12 is a disulfide-linked heterodimer composed of unrelated 40-kD (p40, or IL12B; 161561) and 35-kD (p35) subunits.
NCBI Summary:
This gene encodes a subunit of interleukin 12, a cytokine that acts on T and natural killer cells, and has a broad array of biological activities. Interleukin 12 is a disulfide-linked heterodimer composed of the 40 kD cytokine receptor like subunit encoded by this gene, and a 35 kD subunit encoded by IL12A. This cytokine is expressed by activated macrophages that serve as an essential inducer of Th1 cells development. This cytokine has been found to be important for sustaining a sufficient number of memory/effector Th1 cells to mediate long-term protection to an intracellular pathogen. Overexpression of this gene was observed in the central nervous system of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggesting a role of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of the disease. The promoter polymorphism of this gene has been reported to be associated with the severity of atopic and non-atopic asthma in children. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Gallinelli A, et al reported the correlations between concentrations of interleukin-12 and interleukin-13 and lymphocyte subsets in the follicular fluid of women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome.
To investigate a possible correlation between interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-13 levels and lymphocyte subsets in the preovulatory follicles of patients with and without polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Seventy-eight infertile women undergoing IVF-embryo transfer.The subjects underwent blood sampling, ovum retrieval, and embryo transfer.Follicular fluid levels of T, androstenedione (A); IL-12, IL-13, activated T cells, T helper, and T-suppressor lymphocytes.The level of IL-12 detected in follicular fluid (FF) was significantly lower in patients with PCOS than in normally ovulating women (mean: 1.47 +/- 0.3 pg/mL vs. 2.25 +/- 0.7 pg/mL, respectively); in contrast, FF IL-13 concentrations were significantly higher in the patients with PCOS than in the normally ovulating women (mean: 32.5 +/- 3.7 pg/mL vs. 19.6 +/- 2.5 pg/mL, respectively), as was the total number of activated T lymphocytes (11.5% +/- 1.5% vs. 4.8% +/- 0.4%). A significant correlation was observed between FF activated T-cell concentrations and FF IL-12, IL-13, T, and A levels. No significant differences were observed when these data were compared with embryological parameters.The present study shows significant differences in the correlation between FF IL-12 and IL-13 levels and T lymphocyte numbers in the subset of patients with PCOS as compared to normally ovulating women.