Cloning of the γ Chain of the Human IL-2 Receptor

作者：Toshikazu Takeshita, Hironobu Asao, Kiyoshi Ohtani, Naoto Ishii, Satoru Kumaki, Nobuyuki Tanaka, Hiroshi Munakata, Masataka Nakamura, Kazuo Sugamura · 发表于：Science · 年份：1992 · DOI：10.1126/science.1631559 · 被引用次数：848 · 研究领域：Immune Response and Inflammation、NF-κB Signaling Pathways、Immune Cell Function and Interaction

A third subunit, the gamma chain, of the human interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) was identified, and a complementary DNA clone encoding this member of the cytokine receptor family was isolated. The gamma chain is necessary for the formation of the high- and intermediate-affinity receptors, which consists of alpha beta gamma heterotrimers and beta gamma heterodimers, respectively. The IL-2R on murine fibroblastoid cells can be internalized after binding IL-2 only if the gamma chain is present; alpha and beta are insufficient for internalization. Thus, the gamma chain is an indispensable component of the functional IL-2R.