title: Characterisation and expression analysis of the chicken interleukin-7 receptor alpha chain.
abstract: Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a central regulator of T cell survival and homeostasis and its expression is indicative for naïve and memory T cells. We cloned chicken IL-7Ralpha (CHIL-7Ralpha) and determined its expression profile in chicken lymphocyte subpopulations. The predicted protein sequence contained 460 amino acids. The extracellular domain exhibited features typical of a type I cytokine receptor; a fibronectin type III domain and the GXWSXWS motif were conserved. ChIL-7Ralpha mRNA is highly expressed in lymphoid organs and in CD4+, CD8alpha+ and CD8beta+ cells. A monoclonal antibody was generated and expression of the protein investigated. ChIL-7Ralpha was expressed on CD4+ and CD8alpha+, but not CD8beta+, T cells, in contrast to the high mRNA expression levels in all of these cells. Upon polyclonal stimulation with ConA, IL-7Ralpha was rapidly down-regulated on T cells, suggesting that in the chicken expression of this receptor might also be correlated to the T cell activation status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Daphne A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: van Haarlem
authors.forename: Peter J S
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: van Kooten
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rothwell
authors.forename: Pete
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Lonneke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vervelde
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens / Q000276:immunology*; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020395:Receptors, Interleukin-7 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D020395:Receptors, Interleukin-7; C415350:interleukin-7 receptor, alpha chain; D003208:Concanavalin A