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. 2010 Apr 12;7(3):182–189. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2010.22

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Critical role of IL-7/IL-7R signaling in survival and expansion of differentiated Th17 cells. Th17 cell development is a dichotomous process that is regulated through a complex cytokine network. The differentiation of Th17 cells is mainly mediated by STAT3 signaling through cytokines such as IL-6, IL-21 and IL-23. There is dynamic expression of IL-7R on Th17 cells in the course of T-cell activation/differentiation. In the latter phase, where IL-7R is re-expressed, IL-7 is critically required to sustain survival and expansion of differentiated Th17 cells through STAT5 signaling. IL-7R antagonism renders differentiated Th17 cells susceptible to apoptosis through altered expression of the proapoptotic protein Bax and the antiapoptotic molecule Bcl-2. APC, antigen-presenting cell; IL-7R, IL-7 receptor; MHC–TCR, major histocompatibility complex–T-cell receptor; TGF, transforming growth factor; Th, T helper.