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Overexpression of Interleukin 21 Induces Expansion of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

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Abstract

The interleukin 21 (IL-21) receptor is expressed on T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer cells, and IL-21 is critical for regulating immunoglobulin production in vivo in cooperation with IL-4. So far, however, little is known about a role for IL-21 outside the immune system. We investigated the effect of IL-21 on hematopoiesis in vivo by using the hydrodynamics gene-delivery method. Overexpression of IL-21 increases Sca-1+ cells in the periphery and spleen. It also increases the numbers of c-Kit+, Sca-1+, and lineage-/low (KSL) cells and colony-forming units—granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) in the spleen, indicating the expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells. We found that even in RAG2-/- mice, which lack mature T-cells and B-cells, IL-21 induced an increase in KSL cells and CFU-GM in the spleen. These results demonstrate that IL-21 can induce the expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells in vivo, even in the absence of mature T-cells and B-cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematopoietic Factors, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsutoshi Ozaki, Ai Hishiya & Tetsuya Nosaka

  2. Department of Cellular Therapy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Hideaki Nakajima & Toshio Kitamura

  3. Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

    Gang Wang & Patrick Hwu

  4. Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Warren J. Leonard

  5. Division of Hematology, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi 329-0498, Tochigi, Japan

    Katsutoshi Ozaki, Keiko Hatanaka & Keiya Ozawa

Authors
  1. Katsutoshi Ozaki
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  2. Ai Hishiya
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  3. Keiko Hatanaka
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  4. Hideaki Nakajima
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  5. Gang Wang
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  6. Patrick Hwu
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  7. Toshio Kitamura
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  8. Keiya Ozawa
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  9. Warren J. Leonard
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  10. Tetsuya Nosaka
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Correspondence to Katsutoshi Ozaki.

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Ozaki, K., Hishiya, A., Hatanaka, K. et al. Overexpression of Interleukin 21 Induces Expansion of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells. Int J Hematol 84, 224–230 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1532/IJH97.06036

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1532/IJH97.06036

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