哺乳动物核转录因子NF-кB（Nuclear factor of kappa B）家族蛋白在免疫系统中扮演着重要的角色，通过调节与淋巴细胞发育以及生存相关基因的表达参与免疫应答、肿瘤生成和细胞凋亡等生物学进程。IκB是NF-κB的一种抑制剂，在静息状态下保持NF-κB非活化的状态。当细胞受到外源信号触发时，经过一系列信号传递，IκB发生磷酸化，失去对NF-κB的抑制作用，从而使其入核调控基因表达。作为重要的功能蛋白，NF-κB和IκB在低等到高等动物中均有表达，并且在功能上也相对保守。本文选取从无脊椎动物到脊椎动物中几种具有代表性动物的NF-κB和IκB的相关研究进行综述，以求对其能够有一个更为全面的了解并为相关领域的工作提供参考。

The mammalian nuclear transcription factors NF-κB (Nuclear factor of kappa B) family plays a central role in the immune system, and participates in immune response, tumorigenesis and apoptosis by regulating the genes involved in the development and survival of lymphocytes. Inhibitor of kappa B (IκB) is an inhibitor of NF-κB, which keeps NF-κB in inactive state. When cells are stimulated by external signals, activated IκB is phosphated after a series of signal transmission, and then releases the NF-κB heterodimers that migrate into the nucleus and regulate gene expression. As an important functional protein, they exist in both higher animals and lower animals, and exhibit conserved functions. In this review, we summarize the investigation about NF-κB and IκB in several representative animals from invertebrates to vertebrates, in order to approach a more comprehensive and provide references for related researches.