The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that belongs to the IL10 cytokine subfamily. This cytokine is found to be preferentially expressed in monocytes. It can bind the IL20 receptor complex and lead to the activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). A similar cytokine in mouse is reported to up-regulate the expression of IL6 and TNF-alpha and induce apoptosis, which suggests a role of this cytokine in inflammatory responses. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the distinct isoforms have been described. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].
Bao, Alexander, Shi, Mohan, Chan: "Interleukin-4 up-regulation of epidermal interleukin-19 expression in keratinocytes involves the binding of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (Stat6) to the imperfect Stat6 sites." in: Immunology, Vol. 143, Issue 4, pp. 601-8, (2014) (PubMed).
Amoroso, Falzoni, Adinolfi, Ferrari, Di Virgilio: "The P2X7 receptor is a key modulator of aerobic glycolysis." in: Cell death & disease, Vol. 3, pp. e370, (2012) (PubMed).