| First Author | Yamazaki M | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 171 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 1556-63 |
| PubMed ID | 12874249 | Mgi Jnum | J:84655 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2668792 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.171.3.1556 |
| Citation | Yamazaki M, et al. (2003) Mucosal T cells expressing high levels of IL-7 receptor are potential targets for treatment of chronic colitis. J Immunol 171(3):1556-63 |
| abstractText | The IL-7/IL-7R-dependent signaling pathway plays a crucial role in regulating the immune response in intestinal mucosa. Here we demonstrate the pivotal role of this pathway in the development and treatment of chronic colitis. T cells expressing high levels of IL-7R were substantially infiltrated in the chronic inflamed mucosa of TCR alpha-chain knockout mice and IL-7 transgenic mice. Transfer of mucosal T cells expressing high levels of IL-7R, but not T cells expressing low levels of IL-7R, from these mice into recombinase-activating gene-2(-/-) mice induced chronic colitis. Selective elimination of T cells expressing high levels of IL-7R by administrating small amounts of toxin-conjugated anti-IL-7R Ab completely ameliorated established, ongoing colitis. These findings provide evidence that therapeutic approaches targeting mucosal T cells expressing high levels of IL-7R are effective in the treatment of chronic intestinal inflammation and may be feasible for use in the therapy of human inflammatory bowel disease. |
