Permissive roles of cytokines interleukin-7 and Flt3 ligand in mouse B-cell lineage commitment

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Significance The generation of different blood lineages is regulated by hematopoietic cytokines, either in an instructive or in a permissive manner. The cytokines Interleukin-7 and fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 (Flt3) ligand are required for B-cell development but their precise mode of action remains controversial. Our study has addressed the role of these cytokines in B-cell commitment by analyzing the progenitor stage where B-cell commitment occurs in mice overexpressing one of the two cytokines in the absence of the other. Our results demonstrate a permissive role for both cytokines in B-cell commitment. Interleukin-7 promotes survival of progenitors instead of up-regulation of B-cell commitment factors early B-cell factor 1 (Ebf1) and paired box 5 (Pax5), as previously hypothesized, whereas Flt3 ligand facilitates progenitor expansion by inducing their proliferation.