title: Interleukin-7 deficiency in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a stromal factor that is crucial for the development of T lymphocytes in humans and mice, and also B lymphocytes in mice. IL-7 can act as a T cell growth factor as well as a critical anti-apoptotic survival factor. The essential non-redundant role of this cytokine for T cell development in vivo is indicated by the phenotype of murine knockout models as well as by humans with a T-B+NK+ form of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) resulting from mutations in IL-7 receptor alpha chain. IL-7 deficiency has now been found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a finding that relates not only to the T-lymphocyte status in this disease but also to the ability of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to recover from therapy-induced lymphopenia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. wjl@helix.nih.gov
authors.forename: Warren J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Leonard
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D006801:Humans; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D020395:Receptors, Interleukin-7 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology; D016511:Severe Combined Immunodeficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D015851:Interleukin-7; D020395:Receptors, Interleukin-7; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C415350:interleukin-7 receptor, alpha chain