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Protein / target

Cytokine receptor common subunit gamma

Encoded byIL2RGP31785Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
5
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Structure with Ligand

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Interleukin-15 receptor

Strongest disease association

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Via encoding gene IL2RG · Genetic literature evidence · score 0.76

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

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

Common subunit for the receptors for a variety of interleukins.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Common subunit for the receptors for a variety of interleukins. Probably in association with IL15RA, involved in the stimulation of neutrophil phagocytosis by IL15 (PubMed:15123770)

Subcellular location

Cell membraneCell surface
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (37)

Domains & features

Fibronectin type-III

Gene Ontology

  • Ccell surface
  • Ccytosol
  • Cendosome
  • Cexternal side of plasma membrane
  • Cmembrane
  • Cplasma membrane
  • Creceptor complex
  • Fcoreceptor activity
  • Fcytokine binding
  • Fcytokine receptor activity
  • Finterleukin-15 receptor activity
  • Finterleukin-2 binding

369 aa · 42 kDa · 2 isoforms

Biological roles

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

Immune signallingUniProt · GO
View supporting evidence

Immune signalling

  • ·Common subunit for the receptors for a variety of interleukins. Probably in association…
  • ·cytokine binding
  • ·cytokine receptor activity
  • ·interleukin-15 receptor activity

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

Approved medicines with mapped indications

3 medicines · 6 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.

Delayed Graft Function2 medicines
Immune System Diseases2 medicines
Melanoma1 medicine
Multiple Sclerosis1 medicine
Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting1 medicine
Broader indication categories (1)
Neoplasms1 medicine

Broad umbrella indications (e.g. “Neoplasms”). Shown here because every medicine also appears under a more specific disease above — kept for completeness, de-emphasised for clarity.

5 medicines meet Open Targets' target-level approved-medicine definition; the 3 shown here are those on this page with a canonical approved disease indication in the graph. Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

3

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.

aldesleukin
ApprovedAgonist

Interleukin-2 receptor agonist

Indicated for Melanoma, Neoplasms

Acts on a complex — shared with IL2RB, IL2RA · 1 of 3 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

basiliximab
ApprovedInhibitor

Interleukin-2 receptor inhibitor

Indicated for Delayed Graft Function, Immune System Diseases

Acts on a complex — shared with IL2RB, IL2RA · 1 of 3 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

daclizumab
ApprovedInhibitor

Interleukin-2 receptor inhibitor

Indicated for Delayed Graft Function, Immune System Diseases, Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting

Acts on a complex — shared with IL2RB, IL2RA · 1 of 3 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

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 IL2RG

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene IL2RGthat 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.

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency
0.68Moderately supported

Genetic literature evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.56

Carcinoma, Renal Cell
0.68Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.54

Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous
0.67Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.54

Multiple Sclerosis
0.65Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.53

Neoplasms
0.62Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.49

View evidence synthesis (5)
Severe Combined ImmunodeficiencyModerately supported
0.68
agreement 0.550.81
Genetic literature77%Animal model22%Literature1%Geneticdup

Open Targets aggregate 0.56 · 3 independent evidence families · 1 not counted as duplicate

Carcinoma, Renal CellModerately supported
0.68
agreement 0.520.83
Clinical86%Literature14%

Open Targets aggregate 0.54 · 2 independent evidence families

Lymphoma, T-Cell, CutaneousModerately supported
0.67
agreement 0.520.83
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.54 · 2 independent evidence families

Multiple SclerosisModerately supported
0.65
agreement 0.500.81
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.53 · 2 independent evidence families

NeoplasmsModerately supported
0.62
agreement 0.470.78
Clinical88%Literature12%

Open Targets aggregate 0.49 · 2 independent evidence families

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
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency0.56
Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous0.54
Carcinoma, Renal Cell0.54
Multiple Sclerosis0.53
Neoplasms0.49
Metastatic melanoma0.48
Immune System Diseases0.47

Drug development

8 compounds recorded · 5 approved · 3 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 3 drugs that target this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (3 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (8)
PEGENZILEUKINPhase 2
DACLIZUMABApproval
BASILIXIMABApproval
SIMLUKAFUSP ALFAPhase 3
RECOMBINANT HUMAN INTERLEUKIN-15Phase 2
ALDESLEUKINApproval
DENILEUKIN DIFTITOXApproval
NOGAPENDEKIN ALFA INBAKICEPTApproval

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

Small moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (structure with ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (uniprot loc high conf and go cc high conf) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

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)
SM · Structure with LigandAB · UniProt loc high confAB · GO CC high 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)

RECRUITING · via aldesleukin · NCT07063875

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via aldesleukin · NCT03782636

COMPLETED · via basiliximab · NCT00296244

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

6

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for 3 drugs that target 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. Trial status changed2026-07-22

    Therapeutic Evaluation of Low-dose IL-2-based Immunomodulatory Approach in Patients With Early AD

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via aldesleukin

  2. Safety communication2018-03-08

    Drug Safety Update: Daclizumab (Zinbryta▼): suspension and recall for safety reasons; review patients as soon as possible and start alternative therapy

    mhra · safety · mhra · via daclizumab

  3. Safety communication2014-12-11

    Drug Safety Update: Basiliximab: indicated for renal transplantation only; efficacy and safety not shown in heart transplantation

    mhra · safety · mhra · via basiliximab

  4. New publication2009-08-06
    High-dose daclizumab for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated active anterior uveitis.

    American journal of ophthalmology · 2009 · 49 citations · Europe PMC · via daclizumab

  5. New publication2009-07-21
    Clinical and immunologic effects of intranodal autologous tumor lysate-dendritic cell vaccine with Aldesleukin (Interleukin 2) and IFN-{alpha}2a therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients.

    Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research · 2009 · 78 citations · Europe PMC · via aldesleukin

  6. Regulatory approval1998-10-09

    Approval: Simulect (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via basiliximab

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.