IL-7, Interleukin-7, rat

IL-7, Interleukin-7, rat: Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is encoded by the IL7 gene and secreted by stromal cells in the red marrow and thymus. It binds to the IL-7 receptor, a heterodimer consisting of IL-7 receptor alpha and IL-2 receptor gamma chain. IL-7 stimulates the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into lymphoid progenitor cells and also stimulates proliferation of B cells, T cells and NK cells. Furthermore, IL-7 as an immunotherapy agent has been examined in many human clinical trials for various malignancies and during HIV infection. Rat IL-7 contains 129 amino acid residues and has three disulfide bonds. In addition, it has approximately 57 % and 88 % amino acid sequence identity with human and murine IL-7. UnitProt ID: P56478