Interferon lambda 3 (gene symbol: IFNL3) encodes the IFNL3 protein. IFNL3 was formerly named IL28B, but the Human Genome Organization Gene Nomenclature Committee renamed this gene in 2013 while assigning a name to the then newly discovered IFNL4 gene.[5] Together with IFNL1 (formerly IL29) and IFNL2 (formerly IL28A), these genes lie in a cluster on chromosomal region 19q13. IFNL3 shares ~96% amino-acid identity with IFNL2, ~80% identity with IFNL1 and ~30% identity with IFNL4.
Interferon lambda genes encode cytokines classified as type III interferons, which are distantly related to type I interferons and the IL-10 family. Type III interferons are induced by viral infection and interact with a heterodimeric class II cytokine receptor that consists of interleukin 10 receptor, beta (IL10RB) and interferon lambda receptor 1 (IFNLR1) to signal via the JAK-STAT anti-viral pathway. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].