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Transgenic expression of interleukin 7 restores T cell populations in nude mice

The thymic lesion of the nude mouse causes a profound block in T cell development. The failure of most T cells to mature in nude mice is likely to reflect a requirement for signals elaborated in the normal thymus. Interleukin 7 (IL-7), a lymphokine that is normally expressed in the thymus and has be...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Rockefeller University Press 1995
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2191907/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7869039
Descripción
Sumario:The thymic lesion of the nude mouse causes a profound block in T cell development. The failure of most T cells to mature in nude mice is likely to reflect a requirement for signals elaborated in the normal thymus. Interleukin 7 (IL-7), a lymphokine that is normally expressed in the thymus and has been implicated in T cell maturation, might be central to this process. To test this possibility, we introduced a transgene directing lymphoid expression of IL-7 into nude mice and found that it substantially alleviates the block in T cell maturation caused by the thymic defect. IL-7 transgenic nude mice have increased numbers of peripheral cells expressing the T cell marker Thy-1, the T cell antigen receptor complex, and the co-receptors CD4 and CD8. The IL- 7 transgene also restores T cell-specific proliferation and activation responses to the peripheral cells of transgene-rescued nude mice. Such findings point toward a fundamental role for IL-7 in the thymic maturation of T cells.