Background:
Interleukin 17A (IL17A) is a proinflammatory cytokine secreted by activated T-lymphocytes. It is a potent inducer of the maturation of CD34-positive hematopoietic precursors into neutrophils. The transmembrane protein encoded by this gene (interleukin 17A receptor; IL17RA) is a ubiquitous type I membrane glycoprotein that binds with low affinity to interleukin 17A. Interleukin 17A and its receptor play a pathogenic role in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Like other cytokine receptors, this receptor likely has a multimeric structure. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms.