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Protein / target

Interleukin-4 receptor subunit alpha

Encoded byIL4RP24394Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
1
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Antibody-tractable
Druggability
Approved Drug

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Interleukin-4 receptor

Strongest disease association

Asthma

Via encoding gene IL4R · Genetic evidence · score 0.93

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Antibodies

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Receptor for both interleukin 4 and interleukin 13.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Receptor for both interleukin 4 and interleukin 13 (PubMed:17030238). Couples to the JAK1/2/3-STAT6 pathway. The IL4 response is involved in promoting Th2 differentiation. The IL4/IL13 responses are involved in regulating IgE production and, chemokine and mucus production at sites of allergic inflammation. In certain cell types, can signal through activation of insulin receptor substrates, IRS1/IRS2

Subcellular location

Cell membraneSecreted
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (17)

Domains & features

Fibronectin type-III

Gene Ontology

  • Cexternal side of plasma membrane
  • Cextracellular region
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex
  • Finterleukin-4 receptor activity
  • Pcell surface receptor signaling pathway via JAK-STAT
  • Pimmune response
  • Pinterleukin-13-mediated signaling pathway
  • Pinterleukin-4-mediated signaling pathway
  • Ppositive regulation of chemokine production
  • Ppositive regulation of cold-induced thermogenesis
  • Ppositive regulation of leukocyte differentiation

825 aa · 90 kDa · 3 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Immune signallingUniProt · GO · Reactome
View supporting evidence

Immune signalling

  • ·Receptor for both interleukin 4 and interleukin 13 (PubMed:17030238). Couples to the JAK…
  • ·interleukin-4 receptor activity
  • ·immune response
  • ·interleukin-13-mediated signaling pathway
View underlying pathways (2)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

IL13RA2STAT6JAK1IL2RGIL4IL13RA1IL13JAK3JAK2SOCS5IL4R

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 5 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Asthma1 medicine
Dermatitis, Atopic1 medicine
Eczema1 medicine
Nasal Polyps1 medicine
Sinusitis1 medicine

Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

dupilumab
Narrow target profileApprovedAntagonist

Interleukin-4 receptor subunit alpha antagonist

Indicated for Asthma, Dermatitis, Atopic, Eczema, Nasal Polyps

Direct interaction with this protein · Only this protein recorded as a target

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene IL4R

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene IL4Rthat encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Asthma
0.98Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.74

Childhood onset asthma
0.84Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.51

Respiratory Tract Diseases
0.82Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.51

Chronic rhinosinusitis
0.79Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.49

Lower respiratory tract disorder
0.77Well supported

Genetic evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.47

View evidence synthesis (5)
AsthmaWell supported
0.98
agreement 0.891.00
Genetic48%Clinical38%Animal model8%Literature5%

Open Targets aggregate 0.74 · 4 independent evidence families

Childhood onset asthmaWell supported
0.84
agreement 0.700.98
Genetic98%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.51 · 2 independent evidence families

Respiratory Tract DiseasesWell supported
0.82
agreement 0.710.93
Genetic86%Clinical13%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.51 · 3 independent evidence families

Chronic rhinosinusitisWell supported
0.79
agreement 0.680.90
Genetic85%Clinical13%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.49 · 3 independent evidence families

Lower respiratory tract disorderWell supported
0.77
agreement 0.650.89
Genetic100%

Open Targets aggregate 0.47 · 1 independent evidence family

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Asthma0.74
Dermatitis, Atopic0.61
Childhood onset asthma0.51
Respiratory Tract Diseases0.51
Chronic rhinosinusitis0.49
Lower respiratory tract disorder0.47
Sinusitis0.47

Drug development

2 compounds recorded · 1 approved · 1 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (2)
CINTREDEKIN BESUDOTOXPhase 3
DUPILUMABApproval

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

AntibodiesStrong

Approved Drug and GO CC high conf support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (database ubiquitination) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Advanced Clinical support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (7)
AB · Approved DrugAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt loc med confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMAB · Human Protein Atlas locPR · Database UbiquitinationOC · Advanced Clinical

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via dupilumab · NCT06352073

RECRUITING · via dupilumab · NCT06116526

RECRUITING · via dupilumab · NCT05858619

RECRUITING · via dupilumab · NCT05268107

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via dupilumab · NCT03935971

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

12

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Label change2026-07-15

    Label change: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  2. Indication expanded2026-04-22

    Indication expansion: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  3. Label change2026-04-16

    Label change: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  4. Indication expanded2026-02-23

    Indication expansion: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  5. Indication expanded2025-06-18

    Indication expansion: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  6. Indication expanded2025-04-17

    Indication expansion: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  7. Label change2025-04-16

    Label change: DUPILUMAB (BLA761055)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via dupilumab

  8. Safety communication2022-11-29

    Drug Safety Update: Dupilumab (Dupixent▼): risk of ocular adverse reactions and need for prompt management

    mhra · safety · mhra · via dupilumab

  9. New publication2018-05-21
    Dupilumab Efficacy and Safety in Moderate-to-Severe Uncontrolled Asthma.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2018 · 1,441 citations · Europe PMC · via dupilumab

  10. New publication2016-09-30
    Two Phase 3 Trials of Dupilumab versus Placebo in Atopic Dermatitis.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2016 · 1,521 citations · Europe PMC · via dupilumab

  11. New publication2016-04-27
    Dupilumab efficacy and safety in adults with uncontrolled persistent asthma despite use of medium-to-high-dose inhaled corticosteroids plus a long-acting β2 agonist: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled pivotal phase 2b dose-ranging trial.

    Lancet (London, England) · 2016 · 664 citations · Europe PMC · via dupilumab

  12. New publication2014-07-01
    Dupilumab treatment in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

    The New England journal of medicine · 2014 · 1,014 citations · Europe PMC · via dupilumab

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.