Lum J B, Infante A J, Makker D M, Yang F, Bowman B H
J Clin Invest. 1986 Mar;77(3):841-9. doi: 10.1172/JCI112381.
Transferrin (Tf) is a growth factor that transports iron in plasma. It is essential for proliferation of activated T lymphocytes. Previous studies have suggested that peripheral blood cells are capable of synthesizing Tf. Using in situ hybridization techniques and human Tf complementary DNAs as probes, peripheral blood cells have been examined for sites of Tf messenger RNA (mRNA) transcription. The studies described here demonstrate that Tf is synthesized by a specific subset of T lymphocytes, the T4+ inducer subset. T lymphocyte proliferation is dependent upon the presence of both interleukin 2 (IL-2) and Tf, even though resting cells do not possess receptors for either. The present studies indicate that during T cell activation, induction of IL-2 mRNA transcription and IL-2 receptor expression precede the transcription of Tf mRNA and expression of Tf receptors, respectively. These events in turn precede the initiation of DNA synthesis. Transferrin and its receptor appear to be involved in an autocrine pathway which is functionally linked to the IL-2/IL-2 receptor autocrine loop.
转铁蛋白（Tf）是一种在血浆中运输铁的生长因子。它对于活化T淋巴细胞的增殖至关重要。先前的研究表明外周血细胞能够合成Tf。使用原位杂交技术并以人Tf互补DNA作为探针，对外周血细胞进行了Tf信使核糖核酸（mRNA）转录位点的检测。此处描述的研究表明，Tf由特定的T淋巴细胞亚群即T4 +诱导亚群合成。T淋巴细胞增殖依赖于白细胞介素2（IL-2）和Tf的存在，尽管静息细胞对两者均不具有受体。目前的研究表明，在T细胞活化过程中，IL-2 mRNA转录的诱导和IL-2受体的表达分别先于Tf mRNA的转录和Tf受体的表达。这些事件继而先于DNA合成的起始。转铁蛋白及其受体似乎参与了一条自分泌途径，该途径在功能上与IL-2/IL-2受体自分泌环相关联。
