a substance extracted from white blood cells that stimulates their activity against infection and may be used to combat some forms of cancer
interleukin in American English
(ˌɪntərˈlukɪn)
noun
1.
any of a closely related family of polypeptides, derived from many cell types, that stimulate several components of the inflammatory response, including fever; lymphocyte activating factor
: in full interleukin-1
2.
a glycoprotein lymphocyte product that stimulates the growth of T cells and is used experimentally in cancer therapy; T cell growth factor