Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Meng X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1800912 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Meng Xiangzhi X Leman Michael M Xiang Yan Y
Virology 20060918 1
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) plays an important role in host defense against microbial pathogens. Many poxviruses encode homologous IL-18 binding proteins (IL-18BP) that neutralize IL-18 activity. Here, we examined whether IL-18BP neutralizes IL-18 activity by binding to the same region of IL-18 where IL-18 receptor (IL-18R) binds. We introduced alanine substitutions to known receptor binding sites of human IL-18 and found that only the substitution of Leu5 reduced the binding affinity of IL-18 with I ...[more]