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The lymphokine interleukin-2 (IL-2) is responsible for autocrine cell cycle progression and regulation of immune responses. Uncontrolled secretion of IL-2 results in adverse reactions ranging from anergy, to aberrant T cell activation, to autoimmunity. With the use of fluorescent in situ hybridization and single-cell polymerase chain reaction in cells with different IL-2 alleles, IL-2 expression in mature thymocytes and T cells was found to be tightly controlled by monoallelic expression. Because IL-2 is encoded at a nonimprinted autosomal locus, this result represents an unusual regulatory mode for controlling the precise expression of a single gene.

Original publication

DOI

10.1126/science.279.5359.2118

Type

Journal article

Journal

Science

Publication Date

27/03/1998

Volume

279

Pages

2118 - 2121

Keywords

Alleles, Animals, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Concanavalin A, DNA Replication, Female, Flow Cytometry, Gene Expression Regulation, Heterozygote, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, Interleukin-2, Lymphocyte Activation, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Muridae, Mutation, Polymerase Chain Reaction, S Phase, Transcription, Genetic