CD1d-restricted Valpha24-invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) are important in immunoregulation. CD4(+) and CD4(-) iNKTs develop with similar frequencies in murine thymus and depend on interleukin-15 (IL-15) in periphery. However, homeostatic requirements of iNKTs have not been analyzed in humans. We evaluated thymic production, peripheral dynamics, and functional maturation of human iNKTs....

To determine how interleukin-7 (IL-7) affects the proliferation of T cells in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we evaluated the response of mononuclear cells (MNC) obtained from their peripheral blood (PB), synovial fluid (SF) and synovial tissue (ST) to stimulation by recombinant IL-7 and interleukin-2 (IL-2). Each cytokine was administered alone or combined with phytohemagglutinin (PH...

The three-dimensional structure of human interleukin (IL)-7 has been predicted based on homology to human IL-2, IL-4, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and growth hormone. The model has a topology common to other cytokines and displays a unique disulfide pattern. Knowledge of the tertiary structure of IL-7 has implications for analysis of key binding regions, suggestions for muta...

We analyzed the immune microenvironment in the neoplastic and stromal components of Stage I lung adenocarcinoma lesions, finding that a high ratio of tumor-infiltrating FOXP3+ regulatory T cells to CD3+ lymphocytes, an elevated expression of the interleukin-7 receptor, as well as a reduced expression of the interleukin-12 receptor β2 all constitute independent factors of poor prognosis.