title: A role for interleukin 4 in the differentiation of mature T cell receptor gamma/delta + cells from human intrathymic T cell precursors.
abstract: We have analyzed the effect of human recombinant interleukin 4 (rIL-4) on the growth and differentiation of human intrathymic pre-T cells (CD7+2+1-3-4-8-). We describe that this population of T cell precursors proliferates in response to rIL-4 (in the absence of mitogens or other stimulatory signals) in a dose-dependent way. The IL-4-induced proliferation is independent of the IL-2 pathway, as it cannot be inhibited with an anti-IL-2 receptor alpha chain antibody. In our culture conditions, rIL-4 also promotes the differentiation of pre-T cells into phenotypically mature T cells. Although both CD3/T cell receptor (TCR)-alpha/beta + and CD3-gamma/delta + T cells were obtained, the preferential differentiation into TCR-gamma/delta + cells was a consistent finding. These results suggest that, in addition to IL-2, IL-4 plays a critical role in promoting growth and differentiation of intrathymic T cell precursors at early stages of T cell development.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bárcena
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Toribio
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pezzi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martínez
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004261:DNA Replication; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015703:Antigens, CD; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015847:Interleukin-4