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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Proliferation and Differentiation of Murine Myeloid Precursor 32D/G-CSF-R Cells
Published on: February 21, 2018
IL-7 specifies B cell fate at the common lymphoid progenitor to pre-proB transition stage by maintaining early B cell
Kazu Kikuchi1, Hirotake Kasai, Akiko Watanabe
1Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
IL-7 plays a critical role in B cell fate decision by regulating early B cell factor (EBF) expression. However, it was not clear when IL-7 stimulation is necessary in hemato-/lymphopoiesis in adult mice. Here we show that pre-proB cells derived from IL-7-/- mice have lost B cell potential, despite up-regulation of EBF expression following IL-7 stimulation. Pre-proB cells from wild-type mice can give rise to proB cells in the absence of IL-7. In this case, EBF up-regulation during the transition from the pre-proB to proB stages occurs normally. In contrast, EBF expression by IL-7-/- pre-proB cells after IL-7 stimulation is approximately 20 times lower than wild-type pre-proB cells. In addition, only multipotent progenitors with higher levels of ectopic EBF can give rise to proB cells in the absence of IL-7. Therefore, the primary function of IL-7 before the pre-proB stage in B cell development is to maintain the EBF expression level above a certain threshold, which is necessary for pre-proB cells to further transit to the proB stage.
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