Homeostasis of alpha beta TCR+ T cells.

Cytokines contribute to T cell homeostasis at all stages of T cell existence. However, the particular cytokine involved varies as T cells progress from a naïve through an activated to a memory state. In many cases the important cytokines are members of the interleukin 2 subfamily of the short-chain type I cytokines. A case is made for the idea that the evolutionary divergence of the short-chain family allowed for concurrent divergence in leukocytes.