IL15RA Gene

HGNC Family	CD molecules (CD), Interleukin receptors
Name	interleukin 15 receptor, alpha
Description	This gene encodes a cytokine receptor that specifically binds interleukin 15 (IL15) with high affinity. The receptors of IL15 and IL2 share two subunits, IL2R beta and IL2R gamma. This forms the basis of many overlapping biological activities of IL15 and IL2. The protein encoded by this gene is structurally related to IL2R alpha, an additional IL2-specific alpha subunit necessary for high affinity IL2 binding. Unlike IL2RA, IL15RA is capable of binding IL15 with high affinity independent of other subunits, which suggests distinct roles between IL15 and IL2. This receptor is reported to enhance cell proliferation and expression of apoptosis inhibitor BCL2L1/BCL2-XL and BCL2. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been reported.[provided by RefSeq, Apr 2010]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n IL‐15 receptor alpha (IL15RA) plays a central and multifaceted role in coupling IL‐15 cytokine signals to diverse cellular functions in both immune and nonimmune tissues. Genetic variation in IL15RA has been shown to impact skeletal muscle physiology, with specific polymorphisms correlating with enhanced muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance exercise and a shift in fiber type toward a more oxidative, fatigue‐resistant phenotype ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. In addition, IL15RA expressed by muscle cells contributes to autocrine IL‐15 signaling that supports myogenesis and counteracts inflammatory muscle atrophy ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In the immune compartment, cell‐intrinsic expression of IL15RA on CD8⁺ T cells enhances IL‐15–mediated signaling via a cis‐presentation mechanism, thereby promoting STAT5 phosphorylation, proliferation, and cytotoxic activity ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. Moreover, soluble IL15RA generated by epithelial (keratinocyte) stroma functions as a natural antagonist to IL‐15, dampening proinflammatory cytokine production and ameliorating skin inflammation in psoriasiform disease ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "5"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "].\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In the cancer arena, altered IL15RA signaling has been implicated in tumor biology. For instance, an engineered oncolytic virus expressing a superagonist fusion of IL‐15 and IL15RA has been shown to potentiate adaptive antitumor immunity, while aberrant IL15RA expression in certain triple‐negative breast cancer subsets appears to stimulate proliferative and migratory signaling pathways, potentially modulating the tumor immune microenvironment ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. In support of IL15RA’s broader impact on immune regulation, specific genetic variants in this receptor have been associated with breast cancer risk and, as part of a larger inflammatory gene network, with cardiovascular outcomes ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "].\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n \n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Finally, IL15RA production by hepatocytes, as regulated by transcription factors such as IRF‐1, has been demonstrated to promote the accumulation and activation of NK, NKT, and CD8⁺ T cells, thereby contributing to ischemia–reperfusion injury in liver transplantation ["}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "10"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "]. Collectively, these studies underscore the versatile role of IL15RA in modulating IL‐15 bioactivity across multiple biological contexts—including muscle metabolism, immune cell homeostasis and activation, cancer progression, and inflammatory tissue injury—with significant implications for therapeutic intervention.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Steven E Riechman, G Balasekaran, Stephen M Roth, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Association of interleukin-15 protein and interleukin-15 receptor genetic variation with resistance exercise training responses."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Appl Physiol (1985) (2004)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1152/japplphysiol.00491.2004"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00491.2004"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "15531573"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15531573"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Emidio E Pistilli, Sasha Bogdanovich, Fleur Garton, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Loss of IL-15 receptor α alters the endurance, fatigability, and metabolic characteristics of mouse fast skeletal muscles."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Invest (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1172/JCI44945"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI44945"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21765213"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21765213"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mary F O'Leary, Graham R Wallace, Andrew J Bennett, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "IL-15 promotes human myogenesis and mitigates the detrimental effects of TNFα on myotube development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Sci Rep (2017)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1038/s41598-017-13479-w"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13479-w"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "29021612"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29021612"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jesse Rowley, Archana Monie, Chien-Fu Hung, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Expression of IL-15RA or an IL-15/IL-15RA fusion on CD8+ T cells modifies adoptively transferred T-cell function in cis."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Eur J Immunol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/eji.200838594"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.200838594"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19180469"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19180469"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Grégory Bouchaud, Samuel Gehrke, Carsten Krieg, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Epidermal IL-15Rα acts as an endogenous antagonist of psoriasiform inflammation in mouse and man."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Exp Med (2013)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1084/jem.20130291"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20130291"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24019554"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24019554"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Stacy J Kowalsky, Zuqiang Liu, Mathilde Feist, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Superagonist IL-15-Armed Oncolytic Virus Elicits Potent Antitumor Immunity and Therapy That Are Enhanced with PD-1 Blockade."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Ther (2018)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.07.013"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.07.013"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30064894"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30064894"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pierfrancesco Marra, Sumi Mathew, Anita Grigoriadis, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "IL15RA drives antagonistic mechanisms of cancer development and immune control in lymphocyte-enriched triple-negative breast cancers."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-0637"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-0637"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24980552"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24980552"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Lei Quan, Zhihong Gong, Song Yao, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cytokine and cytokine receptor genes of the adaptive immune response are differentially associated with breast cancer risk in American women of African and European ancestry."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Int J Cancer (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/ijc.28458"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.28458"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "23996684"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23996684"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 9, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Kristin L White, Joellen M Schildkraut, Rachel T Palmieri, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ovarian cancer risk associated with inherited inflammation-related variants."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Res (2012)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-3512"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-3512"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "22282663"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22282663"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 10, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shinichiro Yokota, Osamu Yoshida, Lei Dou, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "IRF-1 promotes liver transplant ischemia/reperfusion injury via hepatocyte IL-15/IL-15Rα production."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Immunol (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.4049/jimmunol.1402505"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1402505"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "25964490"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25964490"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	CD215
Proteins	I15RA_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	3601
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

IL15RA has 6,613 functional associations with biological entities spanning 9 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA, sequence feature) extracted from 117 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for IL15RA from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

IL15RA Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of IL15RA gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of IL15RA gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of IL15RA gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of IL15RA gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of IL15RA gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of IL15RA gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing IL15RA protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing IL15RA protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing IL15RA protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing IL15RA protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the COMPARTMENTS Experimental Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with IL15RA protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with IL15RA protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of IL15RA gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with IL15RA gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with IL15RA gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with IL15RA gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by IL15RA gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with IL15RA gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with IL15RA gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with IL15RA gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with IL15RA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with IL15RA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at IL15RA gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of IL15RA gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of IL15RA gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing IL15RA from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with IL15RA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with IL15RA gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of IL15RA gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with IL15RA gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.
	GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing IL15RA from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset.