Since the discovery of IL-9 almost three decades back as a growth factor, we have come a long way to understand its pleiotropic functions in the immune system. Despite its many functions, IL-9 still remains as an understudied cytokine. In the last decade, renewed emphasis has been provided to understand the biology of IL-9. Any growth factor or cytokine signals via its cognate receptor to mediate biological functions. In this chapter, we discuss the IL-9 signal transduction in different cell types, which would then exert its distinct functions.
Keywords: B cells; Eosinophils; Epithelial cells; IL-9; Innate lymphoid cells; Mast cells.