 It was initially thought to be important for hematopoiesis, notably for megakaryocyte maturation, but subsequently shown to be redundant for platelets, and for other blood cell types, in both mice and humans.It is also known under the names adipogenesis inhibitory factor (AGIF) and was developed as a recombinant protein (rhIL-11) as the drug substance oprelvekin.The human IL-11 gene, consisting of 5 exons and 4 introns, is located on chromosome 19, and encodes a 23 kDa protein.