The

interleukin-7 Interleukin 7 (IL-7) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''IL7'' gene. IL-7 is a hematopoietic growth factor secreted by stromal cells in the bone marrow and thymus. It is also produced by keratinocytes, follicular dendritic cells, hepa ...

receptor is a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

found on the surface of

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

. 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 or multimer 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 ...

, and consists of two subunits, interleukin-7 receptor-α (

CD127 CD1 (cluster of differentiation 1) is a family of glycoproteins expressed on the surface of various human antigen-presenting cells. CD1 glycoproteins are structurally related to the class I MHC molecules, however, in contrast to class I MHC ...

) and common-γ chain receptor (

CD132 The common gamma chain (γc) (or CD132), also known as interleukin-2 receptor subunit gamma or IL-2RG, is a cytokine receptor sub-unit that is common to the receptor complexes for at least six different interleukin receptors: interleukin-2 recept ...

). The common-γ chain receptors is shared with various cytokines, including

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

, -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 b ...

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 (variable–diversity–joining rearrangement) 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 ...

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

genome 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 genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

that contains the

T-cell receptor The T-cell receptor (TCR) is a protein complex, located on the surface of T cells (also called T lymphocytes). They are responsible for recognizing fragments of antigen as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. ...

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 sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

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

and

juvenile idiopathic arthritis Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), formerly known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), is the most common chronic rheumatic disease of childhood, affecting approximately 3.8 to 400 out of 100,000 children. ''Juvenile'', in this context, ref ...

References

External links

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

Function

Diseases

See also

References

External links