May play a role in local mechanisms of mucosal immunity and seems to have a proinflammatory function. May play a role in inflammatory bowel disease. Activates STAT1 and STAT3, MAPK1/3 (ERK1/2), JUN and AKT. Induces expression of SOCS3, TNF-alpha and IL-8, secretion of IL-8 and IL-10 and surface expression of ICAM1. Decreases proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells. Is inhibited by heparin. IL-26 Protein, Human, Recombinant (His) is expressed in yeast with N-6xHis tag. The predicted molecular weight is 19.6 kDa and the accession number is Q9NPH9.