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Perspectives of the relationship between IL-7 and autoimmune diseases

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Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-7 is one of the IL-2 family cytokines comprised of IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15, as well as IL-21. IL-7 is mainly secreted by stroma cells in primary lymphoid tissues, playing an essential role in the program of T cell development. Recently, studies have revealed that physiological function exerted by immunocytes can be influenced by aberrant IL-7 signaling, which is common in abnormal autoimmunity regulation. There is also increasing evidence that IL-7 is involved in several autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, etc. Targeting components in IL-7 signaling pathways may have potential significance for treating numerous autoimmune diseases. In this review, we therefore summarize our current understandings regarding the relationship between IL-7 and autoimmune diseases so as to render more valuable information on this kind of research.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30830089), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20113420120008), and the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (11040606M183).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao-Song Wang, Bao-Zhu Li, Lin-Feng Hu, Peng-Fei Wen, Min Zhang, Hai-Feng Pan & Dong-Qing Ye

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  1. Xiao-Song Wang
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  2. Bao-Zhu Li
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Correspondence to Dong-Qing Ye.

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Wang, XS., Li, BZ., Hu, LF. et al. Perspectives of the relationship between IL-7 and autoimmune diseases. Clin Rheumatol 32, 1703–1709 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-013-2360-x

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