Krawczenko Agnieszka, Kieda Claudine, Duś Danuta
Ludwig Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland.
Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2005 Nov-Dec;53(6):518-25.
Interleukin (IL)-7 is a pleiotropic, non-redundant cytokine necessary for the development of B and T lymphocytes, in particular gammadelta T cell receptor-positive cell differentiation. The cytokine can function as a cofactor during myelopoiesis and the generation of cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells, can activate monocytes/macrophages, and support the survival of mature T cells. A role for IL-7 in promoting the formation of Peyer's patch anlage has also been demonstrated. IL-7 is constitutively expressed in the thymus, bone marrow stromal cells, epithelial and dendritic cells, keratinocytes, as well as in fetal and adult liver. IL-7 acts on various cells through its receptor (IL-7R), a heterodimer consisting of an alpha chain (CD127) that specifically binds IL-7 and a common gamma(c) chain (CD132) shared by other cytokine receptors. The receptor is expressed on bone marrow progenitor cells, lymphoid T and B precursors, and mature T cells. IL-7 activity towards murine endothelial cells has been recently described. The presence of IL-7R on human endothelial cells has also been demonstrated. Several therapeutic applications of recombinant IL-7 have been proposed. These have focused on the enhancement of lymphopoiesis, promotion of stem cell engraftment, and the anti-tumor activity of the cytokine.
白细胞介素（IL）-7是一种多效性、不可或缺的细胞因子，对B淋巴细胞和T淋巴细胞的发育至关重要，尤其是对γδT细胞受体阳性细胞的分化。该细胞因子在骨髓生成、细胞毒性T细胞和自然杀伤细胞的产生过程中可作为辅助因子发挥作用，能激活单核细胞/巨噬细胞，并维持成熟T细胞的存活。IL-7在促进派尔集合淋巴结原基形成中的作用也已得到证实。IL-7在胸腺、骨髓基质细胞、上皮细胞、树突状细胞、角质形成细胞以及胎儿和成人肝脏中持续表达。IL-7通过其受体（IL-7R）作用于多种细胞，IL-7R是一种异二聚体，由特异性结合IL-7的α链（CD127）和其他细胞因子受体共有的γ(c)链（CD132）组成。该受体在骨髓祖细胞、淋巴样T和B前体细胞以及成熟T细胞上表达。最近已报道IL-7对小鼠内皮细胞的活性。人内皮细胞上IL-7R的存在也已得到证实。已提出重组IL-7的几种治疗应用。这些应用主要集中在增强淋巴细胞生成、促进干细胞植入以及该细胞因子的抗肿瘤活性方面。
