Disclosed are cysteine variants of interleukin-11 (IL-11) and methods of making and using such proteins in therapeutic applications.

Methods of treating or preventing alcoholic liver disease are disclosed, the methods comprising administering to a subject a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of an agent capable of inhibiting interleukin 11 (IL-11)-mediated signalling.

Disclosed herein are single chain dimeric cytokines having improved physiological activity over wild-type cytokine monomers. The single chain dimeric cytokines of the disclosure may be useful in the treatment of various diseases or disorders relating to inflammatory conditions or proliferative conditions. Also disclosed are delivery vectors or agents for delivering the single chain dimeric cytokines to a subject. Such delivery vectors or agents include cells, bacteria and bacteriophages.