title: Impairment of T and B cell development by treatment with a type I interferon.
abstract: Type I interferons alpha and beta, naturally produced regulators of cell growth and differentiation, have been shown to inhibit IL-7-induced growth and survival of B cell precursors in vitro. After confirming an inhibitory effect on B lymphopoiesis in an ex vivo assay, we treated newborn mice with an active IFN-alpha2/alpha1 hybrid molecule to assess its potential for regulating B and T cell development in vivo. Bone marrow and splenic cellularity was greatly reduced in the IFN-alpha2/alpha1-treated mice, and B lineage cells were reduced by >80%. The bone marrow progenitor population of CD43+B220+HSA- cells was unaffected, but development of the CD19+ pro-B cells and their B lineage progeny was severely impaired. Correspondingly, IL-7-responsive cells in the bone marrow were virtually eliminated by the interferon treatment. Thymus cellularity was also reduced by >80% in the treated mice. Phenotypic analysis of the residual thymocytes indicated that the inhibitory effect was exerted during the pro-T cell stage in differentiation. In IFN-alpha/beta receptor-/- mice, T and B cell development were unaffected by the IFN-alpha2/alpha1 treatment. The data suggest that type I interferons can reversibly inhibit early T and B cell development by opposing the essential IL-7 response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000187:drug effects; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D017471:Receptors, Interferon / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D015851:Interleukin-7; D017471:Receptors, Interferon