| First Author | Rich BE | Year | 1995 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 181 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 1223-8 |
| PubMed ID | 7869039 | Mgi Jnum | J:23242 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:71009 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.181.3.1223 |
| Citation | Rich BE, et al. (1995) Transgenic expression of interleukin 7 restores T cell populations in nude mice. J Exp Med 181(3):1223-8 |
| abstractText | The thymic lesion of the nude mouse causes a profound block in T cell development. The failure of most T cells to mature in nude mice is likely to reflect a requirement for signals elaborated in the normal thymus. Interleukin 7 (IL-7), a lymphokine that is normally expressed in the thymus and has been implicated in T cell maturation, might be central to this process. To test this possibility, we introduced a transgene directing lymphoid expression of IL-7 into nude mice and found that it substantially alleviates the block in T cell maturation caused by the thymic defect. IL-7 transgenic nude mice have increased numbers of peripheral cells expressing the T cell marker Thy-1, the T cell antigen receptor complex, and the co-receptors CD4 and CD8. The IL-7 transgene also restores T cell-specific proliferation and activation responses to the peripheral cells of transgene-rescued nude mice. Such findings point toward a fundamental role for IL-7 in the thymic maturation of T cells. |
