title: Allelic selection of human IL-2 gene.
abstract: The allelic expression of mouse IL-2 cannot be definitely extrapolated to what might happen in humans. Therefore, we investigated the regulation of allelic expression of the IL-2 gene in non-genetically manipulated human T lymphocytes by following natural allelic polymorphisms. We found a phenotypically silent punctual change in the human IL-2 at position 114 after the first nucleotide of the initiation codon, which represents a dimorphic polymorphism at the first exon of the IL-2 gene. This allowed the study by single-cell PCR of the regulation of the human IL-2 allelic expression in heterozygous CD4(+) T cells, which was found to be tightly controlled monoallelically. These findings may be used as a suitable marker for monitoring the IL-2 allelic contribution to effector activities and in immune responses against different infections or in pathological situations.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Celular e Inmunología, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López Neyra", CSIC, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Matesanz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fresno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alcina
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D006801:Humans; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2