Function
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase is the first and rate-limiting enzyme of tryptophan catabolism through kynurenine pathway, thus causing depletion of tryptophan which can cause halted growth of microbes as well as T cells.
INDO is an immunomodulatory enzyme produced by some alternatively activated macrophages and other immunoregulatory cells (also used as an immune subversion strategy by many tumors). INDO Interferon-gamma has an antiproliferative effect on many tumor cells and inhibits intracellular pathogens such as Toxoplasma and chlamydia, at least partly because of the induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase.
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