Both integrated and differential regulation of components of the IL-2/IL-2 receptor system

HP Kim, J Imbert, WJ Leonard - Cytokine & growth factor reviews, 2006 - Elsevier
Interleukin-2 was discovered in 1976 as a T-cell growth factor. It was the first type I cytokine
cloned and the first for which a receptor component was cloned. Its importance includes its
multiple actions, therapeutic potential, and lessons for receptor biology, with three
components differentially combining to form high, intermediate, and low-affinity receptors. IL-
2Rα and IL-2Rβ, respectively, are markers for double-negative thymocytes and regulatory T-
cells versus memory cells. γc, which is shared by six cytokines, is mutated in patients with X …