Interleukin-7 Receptor Signaling Network: An Integrated Systems Perspective

• 作 者: Megan J. Palmer Vinay S. Mahajan Lily C. Trajman Darrell J. Irvine Douglas A.Lauffenburger Jianzhu Chen
• 机 构: Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, US
• 出 处: 中国免疫学杂志（英文版）
• 发表日期: 2008年2期
• 关键词: IL-7 receptor cytokine signaling network systems biology modeling

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is an essential cytokine for the development and homeostatic maintenance of T and B lymphocytes. Binding of IL-7 to its cognate receptor, the IL-7 receptor (IL-7R), activates multiple pathways that regulate lymphocyte survival, glucose uptake, proliferation and differentiation. There has been much interest in understanding how IL-7 receptor signaling is modulated at multiple interconnected network levels. This review examines how the strength of the signal through the IL-7 receptor is modulated in T and B cells, including the use of shared receptor components, signaling crosstaik, shared interaction domains, feedback loops, integrated gene regulation, muitimerization and ligand competition. We discuss how these network control mechanisms could integrate to gov the properties of IL-7R signaling in lymphocytes in health and disease. Analysis of IL-7receptor signaling at a network level in a systematic manner will allow for a comprehensive approach to understanding the impact of multiple signaling pathways on lymphocyte biology.