A monoclonal antibody, A7R34, that recognizes the high-affinity interleukin 7 receptor (IL-7Ra) and blocks the binding between IL-7 and IL-7Ra has been produced. Cell surface staining with A7R34 demonstrated that IL-7Ra is expressed in both B- and T-cell lineages. In the bone marrow, immature B-lineage cells that do not express surface IgM were IL-7Ra+. In the thymus, IL-7Ra was detected in CD4...

Hematopoietic lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells are essential for the development of secondary lymphoid tissues including lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. Two transcription factors, the helix-loop-helix inhibitor Id2 and the retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gt (Rorgt), have been shown to be crucial for LTi cell development. However, it remains unclear how the specification of multipotent...

1. Let p be a prime and S a cohomology n-spherel over Z, (the integers mod p). Let 7ra be an abelian group of order pa and type (p,. . ,p) acting effectively on S to form a transformation group (S, 7ra). Let 5, be the 7ra-free part of S, that is, the union of orbits of cardinality pa. For 7rb C ira, denote by F(i7r,) the fixed-point set of irb. F(irb) is a cohomology sphere over Zp. Let n(irb) ...

The IL-7Ra single nucleotide polymorphism rs6897932 is associated with an increased risk for multiple sclerosis (MS). IL-7Ra is a promising candidate to be involved in autoimmunity, because it regulates T cell homeostasis, proliferation, and antiapoptotic signaling. However, the exact underlying mechanisms in the pathogenesis of MS are poorly understood. We investigated whether CD4 and CD8 lymp...

BACKGROUND Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are autoimmune demyelinating diseases of the central nerve system. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) and interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα) were proved to be important in the pathogenesis of both diseases because of the roles they played in the differentiations of autoimmune lymphocytes. The variants of both genes had been identified to be...

Optimal CD4+ T cell recovery after initiating combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) in HIV infection reduces risk of morbidity and mortality. T-allele homozygosity ('TT') in the single nucleotide polymorphism, rs6897932(C/T), in the IL-7 receptor α (IL-7RA) is associated with faster CD4+ T cell recovery after cART initiation compared to C-allele homozygosity in rs6897932 ('CC'). However, ...

OBJECTIVES Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with unknown etiology. Various genetics and environmental factors contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. The interleukin-7 receptor alpha chain (IL-7Ra) was identified as the first non-major histocompatibility complex (non-MHC) MS susceptibility locus. In this study we are tryin...

Purpose:The antitumor activity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–redirectedCTLs shouldbe enhanced if it were possible to increase their proliferation and function after adoptive transfer without concomitantly increasing the proliferation and function of regulatory T cells (Treg). Here, we explored whether the lack of IL-7Ra in Treg can be exploited by the targeted manipulation of the interleuk...

Craig ANDERSON, Trevor MACKLIN BAE SYSTEMS Advanced Technology Centres, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 8HN, UK Tel. +44 (0) 1245 242654, Fax +44 (0) 1245 475244, email [email protected] Christine GOMMENGINGER, Meric SROKOSZ Southampton Oceanography Centre, Empress Dock, Southampton, Hants SO14 3ZH, UK Tel. +44 (0) 2380 596414, Fax +44 (0) 2380 596400, email [email protected]....