Interleukin-7: a Cofactor For V(D)J Rearrangement of the T Cell Receptor β Gene
Open Access
- 2 July 1993
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 261 (5117) , 93-95
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7686307
Abstract
The diversity of the T cell receptor repertoire is generated by rearrangement of gene elements in immature thymocytes. To identify a thymic signal that induces this rearrangement, a variety of agents were tested for their ability to induce rearrangement of the T cell receptor beta gene in suspensions of thymocytes from mouse embryos at day 14 of gestation. Of 16 agents tested, only interleukin-7 (IL-7) induced V(D)J gene rearrangement and sustained expression of the RAG-1 and RAG-2 genes, which are known to control rearrangement. These data implicate IL-7, a cytokine that is abundantly expressed in embryonic thymus, in driving gene rearrangement during early T cell development.Keywords
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