| HGNC Family | Interleukins (IL) |
| Name | interleukin 3 |
| Description | The protein encoded by this gene is a potent growth promoting cytokine. This cytokine is capable of supporting the proliferation of a broad range of hematopoietic cell types. It is involved in a variety of cell activities such as cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. This cytokine has been shown to also possess neurotrophic activity, and it may be associated with neurologic disorders. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008] |
| Summary |
{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Interleukin‐3 (IL-3) plays a pivotal role as a hematopoietic growth factor that promotes cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. In normal hematopoietic cells, continuous IL-3 signaling is required to maintain anti-apoptotic mechanisms; for example, IL-3 sustains key survival proteins such as MCL-1, thereby preventing apoptosis. In contrast, deprivation of IL-3 leads to a cascade of events including activation of kinases such as GSK-3, which phosphorylates MCL-1 to trigger its degradation and initiate programmed cell death."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, in model systems such as Ba/F3 cells—which are intrinsically dependent on IL-3 for proliferation—genetic alterations that mimic constitutive activation of downstream signaling pathways can overcome the requirement for IL-3, resulting in cytokine-independent growth and cellular transformation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In a related context, studies of the lipocalin 24p3 and its receptor have revealed that, under conditions of IL-3 deprivation, alterations in iron handling contribute to apoptosis via upregulation of proapoptotic proteins, underscoring the importance of IL-3 as a survival signal."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Collectively, these findings illustrate that IL-3 is essential for maintaining the viability of hematopoietic and related cell types by preventing apoptotic pathways. Disruption of IL-3 signaling, either by deprivation or through experimental manipulation, serves as a critical experimental model for understanding the molecular determinants of cell survival and the mechanisms underlying oncogenic transformation.\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ulrich Maurer, Céline Charvet, Allan S Wagman, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Glycogen synthase kinase-3 regulates mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and apoptosis by destabilization of MCL-1."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.molcel.2006.02.009"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2006.02.009"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16543145"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16543145"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yana Pikman, Benjamin H Lee, Thomas Mercher, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "MPLW515L is a novel somatic activating mutation in myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS Med (2006)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pmed.0030270"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030270"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16834459"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16834459"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Laxminarayana R Devireddy, Claude Gazin, Xiaochun Zhu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "A cell-surface receptor for lipocalin 24p3 selectively mediates apoptosis and iron uptake."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell (2005)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cell.2005.10.027"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2005.10.027"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "16377569"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16377569"}]}]}]}
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| Synonyms | MULTI-CSF, MCGF, IL-3 |
| Proteins | IL3_HUMAN |
| NCBI Gene ID | 3562 |
| API | |
| Download Associations | |
| Predicted Functions |
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| Co-expressed Genes |
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| Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines |
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IL3 has 6,172 functional associations with biological entities spanning 7 categories (molecular profile, functional term, phrase or reference, chemical, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 95 datasets.
Click the + buttons to view associations for IL3 from the datasets below.
If available, associations are ranked by standardized value
| Dataset | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles | tissue samples with high or low expression of IL3 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 IL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset. | |
| Biocarta Pathways | pathways involving IL3 protein from the Biocarta Pathways dataset. | |
| BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles | cell lines with high or low expression of IL3 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 IL3 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 IL3 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 IL3 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset. | |
| CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles | cell lines with high or low copy number of IL3 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 IL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles | cell lines with IL3 gene mutations from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset. | |
| ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles | transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of IL3 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset. | |
| ChEA Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors binding the promoter of IL3 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 IL3 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores | cellular components containing IL3 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 | cellular components containing IL3 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores | cellular components co-occuring with IL3 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 IL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles | cell lines with IL3 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset. | |
| CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions | chemicals interacting with IL3 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset. | |
| CTD Gene-Disease Associations | diseases associated with IL3 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency | cell lines with fitness changed by IL3 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset. | |
| DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores | diseases associated with IL3 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset. | |
| DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025 | diseases associated with IL3 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 IL3 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 IL3 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 IL3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes associated with IL3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset. | |
| DrugBank Drug Targets | interacting drugs for IL3 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset. | |
| ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles | histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at IL3 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 IL3 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset. | |
| ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors binding the promoter of IL3 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 IL3 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset. | |
| GAD Gene-Disease Associations | diseases associated with IL3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations | diseases associated with IL3 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 IL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations | biological terms co-occuring with IL3 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 IL3 from the GeneSigDB Published Gene Signatures dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases | disease perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Diseases dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations | gene perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules | small molecule perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset. | |
| GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations | transcription factor perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the GEO Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 | biological processes involving IL3 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2015 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 | biological processes involving IL3 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Biological Process Annotations 2025 | biological processes involving IL3 gene from the curated GO Biological Process Annotations2025 dataset. | |
| GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 | cellular components containing IL3 protein from the curated GO Cellular Component Annotations 2015 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 | molecular functions performed by IL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2015 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 | molecular functions performed by IL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2023 dataset. | |
| GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 | molecular functions performed by IL3 gene from the curated GO Molecular Function Annotations 2025 dataset. | |
| GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles | tissues with high or low expression of IL3 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 | tissues with high or low expression of IL3 gene relative to other tissues from the GTEx Tissue Gene Expression Profiles 2023 dataset. | |
| GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 | phenotypes associated with IL3 gene in GWAS datasets from the GWAS Catalog SNP-Phenotype Associations 2025 dataset. | |
| GWASdb SNP-Disease Associations | diseases associated with IL3 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GWASdb SNP-Disease Associations dataset. | |
| GWASdb SNP-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes associated with IL3 gene in GWAS datasets from the GWASdb SNP-Phenotype Associations dataset. | |
| Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles | cell lines with high or low expression of IL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the Heiser et al., PNAS, 2011 Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset. | |
| HMDB Metabolites of Enzymes | interacting metabolites for IL3 protein from the curated HMDB Metabolites of Enzymes dataset. | |
| Hub Proteins Protein-Protein Interactions | interacting hub proteins for IL3 from the curated Hub Proteins Protein-Protein Interactions dataset. | |
| HuGE Navigator Gene-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes associated with IL3 gene by text-mining GWAS publications from the HuGE Navigator Gene-Phenotype Associations dataset. | |
| IMPC Knockout Mouse Phenotypes | phenotypes of mice caused by IL3 gene knockout from the IMPC Knockout Mouse Phenotypes dataset. | |
| InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations | protein domains predicted for IL3 protein from the InterPro Predicted Protein Domain Annotations dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Human Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 | transcription factors regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Mouse Transcription Factor Targets 2025 dataset. | |
| JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the JASPAR Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| KEA Substrates of Kinases | kinases that phosphorylate IL3 protein from the curated KEA Substrates of Kinases dataset. | |
| KEGG Pathways | pathways involving IL3 protein from the KEGG Pathways dataset. | |
| KEGG Pathways 2026 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the KEGG Pathways 2026 dataset. | |
| Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles | cell lines with high or low copy number of IL3 gene relative to other cell lines from the Klijn et al., Nat. Biotechnol., 2015 Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset. | |
| KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations | transcription factor perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the KnockTF Gene Expression Profiles with Transcription Factor Perturbations dataset. | |
| LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbation Consensus Signatures | small molecule perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the LINCS L1000 CMAP Chemical Perturbations Consensus Signatures dataset. | |
| LOCATE Curated Protein Localization Annotations | cellular components containing IL3 protein in low- or high-throughput protein localization assays from the LOCATE Curated Protein Localization Annotations dataset. | |
| LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations | cellular components predicted to contain IL3 protein from the LOCATE Predicted Protein Localization Annotations dataset. | |
| MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 | phenotypes of transgenic mice caused by IL3 gene mutations from the MGI Mouse Phenotype Associations 2023 dataset. | |
| MiRTarBase microRNA Targets | microRNAs targeting IL3 gene in low- or high-throughput microRNA targeting studies from the MiRTarBase microRNA Targets dataset. | |
| MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets | transcription factors regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using known transcription factor binding site motifs from the MotifMap Predicted Transcription Factor Targets dataset. | |
| MPO Gene-Phenotype Associations | phenotypes of transgenic mice caused by IL3 gene mutations from the MPO Gene-Phenotype Associations dataset. | |
| MSigDB Cancer Gene Co-expression Modules | co-expressed genes for IL3 from the MSigDB Cancer Gene Co-expression Modules dataset. | |
| NURSA Protein Complexes | protein complexs containing IL3 protein recovered by IP-MS from the NURSA Protein Complexes dataset. | |
| Pathway Commons Protein-Protein Interactions | interacting proteins for IL3 from the Pathway Commons Protein-Protein Interactions dataset. | |
| PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations | gene perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset. | |
| PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Mouse Gene Perturbations | gene perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the PerturbAtlas Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Gene Perturbations dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2023 dataset. | |
| PFOCR Pathway Figure Associations 2024 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the Wikipathways PFOCR 2024 dataset. | |
| PID Pathways | pathways involving IL3 protein from the PID Pathways dataset. | |
| Reactome Pathways 2014 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the Reactome Pathways dataset. | |
| Reactome Pathways 2024 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the Reactome Pathways 2024 dataset. | |
| Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles | histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at IL3 gene from the Roadmap Epigenomics Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures | drug perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the RummaGEO Drug Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures | gene perturbations changing expression of IL3 gene from the RummaGEO Gene Perturbation Signatures dataset. | |
| Tabula Sapiens Gene-Cell Associations | cell types with high or low expression of IL3 gene relative to other cell types from the Tabula Sapiens Gene-Cell Associations dataset. | |
| TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets | microRNAs regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using conserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Conserved microRNA Targets dataset. | |
| TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets | microRNAs regulating expression of IL3 gene predicted using nonconserved miRNA seed sequences from the TargetScan Predicted Nonconserved microRNA Targets dataset. | |
| TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors | tissue samples with high or low expression of IL3 gene relative to other tissue samples from the TCGA Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Tumors dataset. | |
| TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores | tissues co-occuring with IL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores dataset. | |
| TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 | tissues co-occuring with IL3 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the TISSUES Text-mining Tissue Protein Expression Evidence Scores 2025 dataset. | |
| WikiPathways Pathways 2014 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the Wikipathways Pathways 2014 dataset. | |
| WikiPathways Pathways 2024 | pathways involving IL3 protein from the WikiPathways Pathways 2024 dataset. | |
