ABSTRACT
Biological responses, including the immune response, need multiple and complex interactions between many cells. Some of them are mediated through direct contact but soluble mediators secreted by activated cells are crucial, allowing short range regulation of cell functions in the immediate cellular vicinity and long range coordination of several systems in the host. These soluble factors are generally designed as cytokines. Based on its structure and its sharing of protein chain receptors, LIF belongs to a subgroup among this family of mediators that presently includes Interleukin-6 (IL6), Interleukin-11 (IL11), Oncostatin-M (OSM), Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF), and Cardiotrophin-1 (CT1).
