| interleukin 13 receptor, alpha 1 | |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | IL13RA1 | 
| Alt. symbols | IL-13Ra, NR4, CD213a1 | 
| Entrez | 3597 | 
| HUGO | 5974 | 
| OMIM | 300119 | 
| RefSeq | NM_001560 | 
| UniProt | P78552 | 
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. X q24 | 
| interleukin 13 receptor, alpha 2 | |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | IL13RA2 | 
| Alt. symbols | IL-13R, IL13BP, CD213a2 | 
| Entrez | 3598 | 
| HUGO | 5975 | 
| OMIM | 300130 | 
| RefSeq | NM_000640 | 
| UniProt | Q14627 | 
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. X q13.1-q28 | 
| interleukin 4 receptor | |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | IL4R | 
| Alt. symbols | IL4RA; CD124 | 
| Entrez | 3566 | 
| HUGO | 6015 | 
| OMIM | 147781 | 
| RefSeq | NM_000418 | 
| UniProt | Q9H186 | 
| Other data | |
| Locus | Chr. 16 p12.1-11.2 | 
The interleukin-13 receptor is a type I cytokine receptor, binding Interleukin-13. It consists of two subunits, encoded by IL13RA1 and IL4R, respectively. These two genes encode the proteins IL-13Rα1 and IL-4Rα. These form a dimer with IL-13 binding to the IL-13Rα1 chain and IL-4Rα stabilises this interaction. This IL-13 receptor can also instigate IL-4 signalling. In both cases this occurs via activation of the Janus kinase (JAK)/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) pathway, resulting in phosphorylation of STAT6. Phosphorylated STAT6 dimerises and acts as a transcription factor activating many genes, such as eotaxin.
There is also another receptor that can bind IL-13: IL-13Rα2 encoded by the IL13RA2 gene. This binds IL-13 with very high affinity (and can therefore sequester it) but does not allow IL-4 binding. It acts as a negative regulator of both IL-13 and IL-4, however the mechanism of this is still undetermined.