ABSTRACT
Originally, IL5 was described as a form of T cell replacing factor (TRF) by Takatsu et al. [1], a B cell growth factor (BCGFII) by Swain et al. [2] and a B cell differentiation factor (BCDFµ) by Vitetta et al. [3]. TRF and BCGFII were found to be identical by Takatsu’s group in 1985 [4]. At approximately the same time, work on colony stimulating factors led to the identification of a murine eosinophil differentiation factor (EDF) by means of a liquid bone marrow culture system [5,6]. In 1986 EDF was purified and shown to be identical to BCGFII [7]. This molecule is now known as IL5.
