| First Author | Muegge K | Year | 1993 |
| Journal | Science | Volume | 261 |
| Issue | 5117 | Pages | 93-5 |
| PubMed ID | 7686307 | Mgi Jnum | J:12823 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:61041 | Doi | 10.1126/science.7686307 |
| Citation | Muegge K, et al. (1993) Interleukin-7: a cofactor for V(D)J rearrangement of the T cell receptor beta gene. Science 261(5117):93-5 |
| abstractText | 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. |
