Specificity
Recognizes a protein of 17-31kDa, identified as interleukin 1beta. It shows no cross-reaction with interleukin 1alpha. Epitopes of MAb IL1B/463 and IL1B/4651 are different and provide a good pair for developing an ELISA. This cytokine is produced by activated macrophages as a proprotein, which is proteolytically processed to its active form by caspase 1 (CASP1/ICE). This cytokine is an important mediator of the inflammatory response, and is involved in a variety of cellular activities, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2/COX2) by this cytokine in the central nervous system (CNS) is found to contribute to inflammatory pain hypersensitivity. This gene and eight other interleukin 1 family genes form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 2.