Cloning of the chicken interleukin-13 receptor α2 gene and production of a specific monoclonal antibody

Mammalian interleukin-13 (IL-13) is an important regulatory T2 cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes. The IL-13 receptor (IL-13R) has two different chains, IL-13Rα1 and IL-13Rα2. Although the chicken IL-13 gene is well characterized, little is known about IL-13Rs. We cloned a cDNA encoding the 380 amino acid pro-peptide of chicken IL-13Rα2 (chIL-13Rα2) and developed a monoclonal antibody (mAb), HU13-1, against it. The chIL-13Rα2 amino acid sequence showed 37–39% sequence identity with mammalian homologs. High levels of chIL-13Rα2 mRNA were expressed in liver, testis, ovary, brain, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated IN24 cells. HU13-1 specifically recognized recombinant chIL-13Rα2 in ELISAs, and western blots identified a 45-kDa glycoprotein or a 41-kDa non-glycosylated protein in LPS-stimulated IN24 cell lysates. LPS induced a gradual increase in HU13-1-positive IN24 cells over 20 h. These results indicate that mAb HU13-1 recognizes native chIL-13Rα2 and will be valuable for further studies of chIL-13Rs.