Interleukin 7 (IL-7)
Interleukin 7 (IL-7) is a pleiotropic protein that stimulates lymphocyte maturation and proliferation. It is involved in several additional facets of immunity, including cell to cell communication and regulation of the humoral immune response. IL-7 has been implicated in a number of different disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer. This analyte is eligible for multiplexing.
Name: Interleukin 7 (IL-7)
Category: Health & Inflammation
Type of test: Blood + Saliva
Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine that acts as a hematopoietic growth factor and plays an important role in lymphocyte production and survival. IL-7 also has important thymopoietic functions and is produced in large quantities by thymic epithelial cells. IL-7 is also produced by a number of other cells, including keratinocytes, dendritic cells, liver cells, and even neurons. In addition to acting as a growth factor, IL-7 also regulates humoral immune responses, with mice overexpression IL-7 mounting more robust and lasting antibody responses to rabies vaccination than wild type mice.
IL-7 plays a role in the etiology of several diseases, including blood cancers and cardiovascular disease. Despite its role in these disorders, IL-7 nonetheless has important clinical applications as an immunotherapy. For example, administering IL-7 alongside antiretroviral drugs appears to improve outcomes for individuals with HIV. Further, IL-7 may be beneficial for facilitating immune recovery after stem cell transplants.
More recently, IL-7 has been explored as an immunotherapy in the context of severe COVID-19. Preliminary data suggest that it may have some utility as a treatment in this context. IL-7 can be measured in both saliva and serum / plasma, but the extent to which levels in these sample types correlate is variable.
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