About IL-1 beta
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the interleukin 1 cytokine family. This cytokine is produced by activated macrophages as a proprotein, which is proteolytically processed to its active form by caspase 1 (CASP1/ICE). This cytokine is an important mediator of the inflammatory response, and is involved in a variety of cellular activities, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The induction of cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2/COX2) by this cytokine in the central nervous system (CNS) is found to contribute to inflammatory pain hypersensitivity. Similarly, IL-1B has been implicated in human osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Patients with severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) present elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1B in bronchial alveolar lavage fluid samples. The lung damage induced by the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is to a large extent, a result of the inflammatory response promoted by cytokines such as IL-1B. This gene and eight other interleukin 1 family genes form a cytokine gene cluster on chromosome 2. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2020]

About PE
Phycoerythrin (PE, R-PE) is a red-emitting fluorescent protein-chromophore complex that can be excited the 488-nm blue, 532-nm green, or 561-nm yellow-green laser with increasing efficiency and captured with a 586/14 nm bandpass filter. PE has an excitation peak at 565 nm and an emission peak at 578 nm. PE is 240kD in size and has an extinction coefficient of ~2x10^6 which makes it one of the brightest fluorophores available and a potent donor upon which to build tandem fluorophores with longer Stoke's Shifts.