It has also been identified as a major player in a number of chronic inflammatory diseases, including atopic dermatitis.

[8] The anti-parallel bundles that these proteins form have an "up-up-down-down" topology, which is a relevant structure regarding the cytokine binding to their respective receptor complex.

[7] The receptors form heteromeric complexes that usually contain the glycoprotein 130 (gp130), which is important for activating downstream signaling pathways.

IL-31RA has an intracellular domain that possesses a box1 motif that mediates association with kinases of the JAK family.

[7] In contrast to IL-31RA, which binds SHP-2, the OSMR interacts with the adaptor protein Shc via the phosphorylated tyrosines on its intracellular domain.

It major sites of action are the skin, lung, intestine and the nervous system.

[8] The chemokines transcribed from these genes recruit T-cells to the irritated skin where they secrete more IL-31.

Along with atopic dermatitis, IL-31 is believed to play a role in inflammatory bowel disease and airway hypersensitivity.

[8] Dorsal root ganglia is where the cell bodies of primary sensory neurons reside.