Recombinant Mouse IL-13

Recombinant Mouse IL-13 is a valuable tool for research applications due to its well-characterized biological activities and broad relevance in immunology, inflammation, and tissue repair. Here are key reasons to use Recombinant Mouse IL-13 in your research:

1. Induction of Anti-Inflammatory Phenotypes

• Recombinant Mouse IL-13 promotes the polarization of macrophages and microglia toward an anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotype, reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-12.
• This makes it ideal for studies on inflammation modulation, immune regulation, and tissue repair.

2. Regulation of Immune Cell Function

• IL-13 enhances class II MHC antigen expression on macrophages, supporting antigen presentation.
• It regulates eosinophil survival, activation, and recruitment, and activates mast cells, making it relevant for studies on allergic responses and parasite immunity.

3. Metabolic and Tissue Remodeling Effects

• IL-13 drives metabolic conditioning in muscle, promoting mitochondrial biogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, and endurance capacity.
• It supports tissue remodeling and repair, including cardiac, neural, and pulmonary tissues, especially in models of injury or disease.

4. Bioassay and Functional Studies

• Recombinant Mouse IL-13 is widely used in bioassays to stimulate cell proliferation (e.g., TF-1 human erythroleukemic cell line) with a well-defined ED50 (typically 0.3–3 ng/mL).
• It is suitable for dose-response studies, receptor signaling investigations, and functional assays in whole cells, organoids, and in vivo models.

5. Therapeutic and Disease Modeling Applications

• IL-13 is implicated in the pathogenesis and treatment of allergic asthma, inflammatory arthritis, viral myocarditis, and neurodegenerative diseases.
• Its use enables modeling of disease mechanisms and evaluation of therapeutic interventions targeting IL-13 signaling pathways.

6. High Purity and Consistency

• Commercially available recombinant Mouse IL-13 is produced with high purity (>95%) and low endotoxin levels, ensuring reproducible and reliable experimental results.

7. Versatility Across Sample Types

• Effective in a variety of sample types, including whole cells, organoids, and in vivo systems, supporting diverse experimental designs.

Summary

Recombinant Mouse IL-13 is essential for studies involving immune modulation, inflammation, tissue repair, metabolic regulation, and disease modeling. Its ability to induce anti-inflammatory responses, regulate immune cell function, and drive tissue remodeling makes it a powerful reagent for advancing research in immunology, neuroscience, and regenerative medicine.

Yes, recombinant mouse IL-13 can be used as a standard for quantification or calibration in ELISA assays, provided it is of high purity, properly quantified, and compatible with your assay system. This is a common practice in both commercial ELISA kits and custom assay development.

Supporting details:

• Commercial ELISA kits for mouse IL-13 routinely use recombinant mouse IL-13 as the standard for generating calibration curves. For example, the Quantikine Mouse IL-13 ELISA uses a recombinant mouse IL-13 standard, and the assay is calibrated against this recombinant protein. The kit documentation states: "This immunoassay is calibrated against a recombinant mouse IL-13... This assay recognizes natural and recombinant mouse IL-13".

• Parallelism between recombinant and natural IL-13: The standard curves generated with recombinant mouse IL-13 are reported to be parallel to those generated with natural mouse IL-13, indicating that the recombinant protein is suitable for quantification of both recombinant and endogenous IL-13 in samples.

• Best practices:

  • Ensure the recombinant IL-13 is quantified accurately (e.g., by amino acid analysis or absorbance at 280 nm with a known extinction coefficient).
  • Use the same diluent and matrix as your samples to minimize matrix effects.
  • Prepare a serial dilution to generate a standard curve covering the expected concentration range in your samples.
  • Confirm that your ELISA antibodies recognize the recombinant form equivalently to the natural form (most commercial antibodies do, but this should be validated for custom assays).

• Limitations:

  • The recombinant standard should be of high purity and free from contaminants that could interfere with the assay.
  • If your recombinant IL-13 is not from the same source or expression system as the kit standard, minor differences in glycosylation or folding could affect antibody recognition, though this is rare for well-characterized cytokines like IL-13.

• Research use only: All such standards and kits are for research use, not for diagnostic procedures.

In summary:
You can use recombinant mouse IL-13 as a standard for ELISA quantification, following standard calibration procedures and ensuring compatibility with your assay system.

Recombinant Mouse IL-13 has been validated for a range of applications in published research, primarily in bioassays, cell culture studies, in vivo models, and functional assays focused on immunology, inflammation, and tissue remodeling.

Key validated applications include:

• Bioassays:
  Recombinant Mouse IL-13 is widely used in bioassays to study cytokine signaling, cell proliferation (e.g., TF-1 cell proliferation), and immune cell differentiation, particularly in macrophage polarization and T cell function.

• Cell Culture and Differentiation Studies:
  It is used to stimulate or modulate immune cells (macrophages, microglia, T cells, dendritic cells) in vitro, enabling the study of alternative macrophage activation, fibroproliferation, and gene expression changes.

• In Vivo Models:
  Recombinant Mouse IL-13 has been administered to mice to model and investigate:

  • Allergic asthma and airway inflammation: Used to induce or exacerbate airway hyperresponsiveness, mucus production, and eosinophilia in mouse models of asthma.
  • Lung injury and fibrosis: Applied in studies of bleomycin-induced lung injury to assess its role in fibroproliferation and alternative macrophage activation.
  • Neuroimmunology: Used to modulate microglial activity and study neuroprotective or neuroregenerative effects after injury.
  • Metabolic regulation: Employed to investigate IL-13’s role in adipocyte differentiation and metabolic programming.

• Organoid and Ex Vivo Systems:
  Applied to mouse organoids to study epithelial cell responses and tissue remodeling, particularly in gastrointestinal and respiratory models.

• Functional Assays:
  Used to assess cytokine-induced signaling pathways, such as STAT6 activation, and to measure downstream effects like gene expression, cytokine secretion, and cell surface marker modulation.

• Immunization and Neutralization Studies:
  Recombinant Mouse IL-13 has been used as an antigen in vaccine development and neutralization assays to evaluate therapeutic strategies targeting IL-13 in allergic and inflammatory diseases.

Representative published research applications:

• Macrophage polarization and function: Monitoring gene expression and bioluminescence in response to IL-13.
• Asthma and allergy models: Inducing airway inflammation, mucus production, and eosinophilia in mice.
• Fibrosis and tissue remodeling: Studying fibroproliferation in lung injury models.
• Neuroimmunology: Modulating microglial activity and neurogenesis after injury.
• Metabolic studies: Driving beige adipogenesis in preadipocytes.

Summary Table of Validated Applications

These applications are supported by numerous peer-reviewed studies and are considered standard in immunology and inflammation research using mouse models.

To reconstitute and prepare Recombinant Mouse IL-13 protein for cell culture experiments, follow these best-practice steps:

• Reconstitution Concentration:
  Reconstitute the lyophilized protein to a concentration between 0.1–1.0 mg/mL for stock solutions. Common working concentrations for cell culture assays are 50–100 µg/mL.

• Solvent:
  Use sterile PBS (phosphate-buffered saline) or sterile water for reconstitution. If the protein is carrier-free, addition of 0.1–1% BSA or HSA (bovine or human serum albumin) is recommended to stabilize the protein and prevent adsorption to tube walls, especially for long-term storage or repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

• Procedure:

  1. Centrifuge the vial briefly (e.g., 3000 rpm for 5 min) before opening to collect all material at the bottom.
  2. Add the appropriate volume of sterile PBS (or water, if specified) to achieve the desired concentration (e.g., for 100 µg, add 1 mL for 0.1 mg/mL, or 100 µL for 1 mg/mL).
  3. Gently mix by pipetting up and down or swirling. Avoid vigorous vortexing to prevent protein denaturation.
  4. Allow the protein to fully dissolve at room temperature for several minutes.

• Aliquoting and Storage:

  • Aliquot the reconstituted protein into small volumes to avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
  • Store aliquots at –20°C or –80°C for long-term storage. For short-term use (up to 1 week), store at 2–8°C.
  • For long-term storage, ensure the presence of a carrier protein (e.g., 0.1% BSA or HSA) to maintain stability.
  • Do not dilute below 5 µg/mL for storage, as lower concentrations may result in loss of activity.

• Working Solution Preparation:

  • Dilute the stock solution to the desired working concentration in cell culture medium immediately before use.
  • Typical bioactive concentrations for cell assays are in the ng/mL range (e.g., 0.3–3 ng/mL for TF-1 cell proliferation).

Summary Table:

Notes:

• Always check the specific product datasheet for any unique instructions, as formulations may vary.
• Pre-screen carrier proteins for potential effects in your experimental system.

This protocol ensures optimal solubility, stability, and bioactivity of recombinant mouse IL-13 for cell culture applications.