Predictive modelling of the 3-D structure of interleukin-13

Several atomic structures are now available for the family ofhelical cytokines, which includes growth hormone as well asmany of the interleukins. Using structural information fromfive members of this family, two alternative models of interleukin(IL)-13 are proposed. IL-13 has biological properties similarto those of IL-4 and, like the other interleukins, is a potentiallyimportant pharmaceutical target. The model of IL-13 is discussedand compared with the known interleukin structures.