Everson M P, Eldridge J H, Koopman W J
Department of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
Cell Immunol. 1990 May;127(2):470-82. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(90)90147-j.
The role of previously defined thymocyte (Thm) growth factors in interleukin (IL)-7-induced Thm growth has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, experiments were designed to examine the capacity of IL-7 to: (i) directly induce Thm proliferation in the absence of experimental and known physiologic costimulators of Thm mitogenesis, and (ii) synergize with other Thm growth factors in supporting Thm proliferation. The data indicate that IL-7 is directly mitogenic for Thm; that is, IL-7 induces Thm proliferation in the absence of experimental comitogens such as concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and phorbol myristate acetate and in the presence of neutralizing antibodies to murine IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-2 receptor (IL-2R)(p55), IL-2R(p70), IL-4, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). We also tested previously described Thm growth factors, i.e., IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, for the capacity to synergize with IL-7 in Thm growth. Our results indicate that IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, but not IL-4, synergize with IL-7 in supporting Thm proliferation. These data suggest that IL-7 functions alone and in a synergistic fashion with other cytokines to regulate Thm growth.
先前定义的胸腺细胞（Thm）生长因子在白细胞介素（IL）-7诱导的Thm生长中所起的作用尚未完全阐明。因此，设计了实验来检测IL-7的能力：（i）在没有Thm有丝分裂的实验性和已知生理性共刺激因子的情况下直接诱导Thm增殖，以及（ii）与其他Thm生长因子协同支持Thm增殖。数据表明IL-7对Thm有直接促有丝分裂作用；也就是说，IL-7在没有诸如伴刀豆球蛋白A、植物血凝素和佛波醇肉豆蔻酸酯乙酸酯等实验性共刺激原的情况下，以及在存在针对小鼠IL-1α、IL-1β、IL-2、IL-2受体（IL-2R）（p55）、IL-2R（p70）、IL-4、IL-6和肿瘤坏死因子（TNF）的中和抗体的情况下诱导Thm增殖。我们还测试了先前描述的Thm生长因子，即IL-2、IL-4、IL-6和TNF-α与IL-7协同促进Thm生长的能力。我们的结果表明，IL-2、IL-6和TNF-α，但不是IL-4，与IL-7协同支持Thm增殖。这些数据表明，IL-7单独发挥作用，并与其他细胞因子以协同方式调节Thm生长。
