The Interleukin 2 Receptor
Year: 1988
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Although it was assumed initially that the various activities found in conditioned media were solely produced by lymphocytes, this idea was broadened subsequently to allow for activities that are produced by nonlymphoid cells, and the term cytokine is now sometimes used. A pivotal advance that enabled new experimental approaches to these problems came when techniques were developed to culture normal T cells for prolonged periods. For lymphokine experiments, the use of cloned cells instead of a heterogeneous population of target cells was the breakthrough needed for unambiguous interpretations of experimental results. Thus, the first description of the biologic properties of the lymphokine responsible for T cell growth occurred only after there was a development of a T cell growth factor (TCGF) assay using cloned cytolytic T cell lines. Clues as to the mechanism were uncovered during the course of the very first experiments on the biologic characteristics of interleukin 2 (IL-2), as the TCGF is presently known, because it was noted that the activity disappeared from the culture media as the cell density increased. The authentic, high-affinity IL-2 receptor that functions to signal T cell cycle progression is composed of at least two distinct polypeptide chains, each of which contains an IL-2 binding site.
Source: Advances in immunology
Author: Kendall A. Smith
Institution: Dartmouth College
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: National Cancer Institute
Award: G889490627
OpenAlex ID: W3025645230