The interleukin-7 receptor is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

found on the surface of

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

. It is made up of two different smaller protein chains - i.e. it is a

heterodimer In biochemistry, a protein dimer is a macromolecular complex formed by two protein monomers, or single proteins, which are usually non-covalently bound. Many macromolecules, such as proteins or nucleic acids, form dimers. The word ''dimer'' ha ...

, and consists of two subunits, interleukin-7 receptor-α ( CD127) and common-γ chain receptor ( CD132). The common-γ chain receptors is shared with various cytokines, including

interleukin-2 Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is an interleukin, a type of cytokine signaling molecule in the immune system. It is a 15.5–16 kDa protein that regulates the activities of white blood cells (leukocytes, often lymphocytes) that are responsible fo ...

, -4, -9, and -15. Interleukin-7 receptor is expressed on various cell types, including

naive Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

and

memory T cells Memory T cells are a subset of T lymphocytes that might have some of the same functions as memory B cells. Their lineage is unclear. Function Antigen-specific memory T cells specific to viruses or other microbial molecules can be found in both ...

and many others.

Function

Interleukin-7 receptor has been shown to play a critical role in the development of immune cells called lymphocytes - specifically in a process known as

V(D)J recombination V(D)J recombination is the mechanism of somatic recombination that occurs only in developing lymphocytes during the early stages of T and B cell maturation. It results in the highly diverse repertoire of antibodies/immunoglobulins and T cell re ...

. This protein is also found to control the accessibility of a region of the

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...

that contains the

T-cell receptor The T-cell receptor (TCR) is a protein complex found on the surface of T cells, or T lymphocytes, that is responsible for recognizing fragments of antigen as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The binding b ...

gamma gene, by STAT5 and histone acetylation . Knockout studies in mice suggest that blocking apoptosis is an essential function of this protein during differentiation and activation of T lymphocytes. Functional defects in this protein may be associated with the pathogenesis of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

Diseases

Several diseases are associated with Interleukin-7 receptor including T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia,

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are inv ...

and

juvenile idiopathic arthritis Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common, chronic rheumatic disease of childhood, affecting approximately one per 1,000 children. ''Juvenile'', in this context, refers to disease onset before 16 years of age, while ''idiopathic'' r ...

References

External links

* {{Clusters of differentiation by lineage Type I cytokine receptors

Function

Diseases

See also

References

External links