Recombinant Human IL-15 Rα

Interleukin 15 receptor, alpha (IL15RA) is a subunit of the IL-15 receptor and specifically binds to IL-15. It is expressed in a wide variety of T cells and B cells, as well as, non-lymphoid cells. The receptors of IL-15 and IL-2 share two subunits, the IL-2R beta and IL-2R gamma chains (1). This forms the basis of many overlapping biological activities of IL-15 and IL-2 (2). IL15RA is structurally related to IL2RA but is capable of binding IL-15 with high affinity independent of other subunits, which suggests the distinct roles between IL-15 and IL-2. This receptor is reported to enhance cell proliferation and expression of apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL2-XL and BCL2 (3). The binding of IL-15 to IL15RA antagonizes the TNF-alpha-mediated apoptosis in fibroblasts by competing with TNRF1 for TRAF2 binding (4).