Introduction:
Interleukin 13 may be produced by activated Th2 cells and is involved in B cell growth and differentiation. It may induce CD23 expression on human B cells and stimulates secretion of IgM, IgE and IgG4. It also inhibits inflammatory cytokine production by monocytes and macrophages and is one of a large group of cytokines that may be involved in the allergic reaction.

Application:
The B-B13, anti-IL-13 antibody has been selected for the identification and enumeration of IL-13 producing human leukocytes within mixed cell populations by flow cytometry (1,2). It is also used in immunohistochemistry on cytospots and frozen tissue sections. In biological studies it blocks IL-13 induced proliferation of the TF1 cell line. The use of a specificity control such as one of the following is suggested: 1) unlabelled B-B13 antibody, 2) recombinant IL-13 or, 3) mouse IgG1 isotype control.
The assay of intracellular IL-13 is clinically interesting when Th2 responses are suspected to predominate such as in allergy, chronic GVHD, progressive systemic sclerosis and Omenn's syndrome. The staining for IL-13 is more intense than the staining for IL-4 which may enable a more sensitive detection of differences among some patient groups such as allergic patients and healthy controls (3). IL-13 mRNA has also been detected in normal and malignant B cells (4,5,).

Specifications:
Clone B-B13, is a murine IgG1 monoclonal antibody specific for human IL-13. Clone B-B13 recognizes both natural and recombinant IL-13.

Literature references:

1. McKenzie ,A., Zurawski,G., 1994. Current Protocols in Immunology. Eds: Coligan, Kruisbeek, Margulies, Shevak and Strober. John Wiley & Sons. New York. Section 6.18.
2. Prussin,C.,and Metcalfe,D.D., 1995. J.Immunol Method. 188. 117-28
3. Baert,M., et al., 1998.. Poster ISAC Colorado, 1998.
4. Fior,R., et al 1994. Eur.Cytokine Netw. 5. 593-600
5. Matthes, T., et al 1995. Eur.J.Immunol. 25. 508-512.