title: Fatal leukemia in interleukin-15 transgenic mice.
abstract: The role of inflammation in the early genesis of certain malignancies has recently been appreciated. Interleukin (IL)-15, a proinflammatory cytokine and growth factor, is required for lymphocyte homeostasis. Intriguingly, the expression of IL-15 protein is tightly controlled by multiple posttranscriptional mechanisms, suggesting that inappropriate expression of IL-15 may be detrimental to the host. We recently engineered a transgenic mouse in which the normal posttranscriptional control of IL-15 is eliminated, thereby overexpressing the murine IL-15 protein. IL-15 transgenic mice have early expansions in NK and CD8+ T lymphocytes and later develop fatal lymphocytic leukemia with a T-NK phenotype. This article recapitulates the phenotype of these IL-15 transgenic mice and discusses the utility of this model as a tool to further our understanding of leukemogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Fehniger
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: VanDeusen
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Freud
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Caligiuri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000235:genetics; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic
chemical_list: D019409:Interleukin-15