Interleukin-36 alpha (IL-36α) is an 18 kDa cytokine with 154 amino acid residues. IL-36α is one of the IL-36 agonists secreted from keratinocytes. When IL-36α binds to the IL-36 receptor, it activates NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways that induce inflammatory responses. In addition, it also stimulates the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-6.