protein_function: Receptor for interleukin-7. Also acts as a receptor forthymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP).
The interleukin-7 receptor(IL7R) is a protein found on the surface of cells. It is mapped to 5p13.2. The protein encoded by this gene is a receptor for interleukine 7(IL7). The function of this receptor requires the interleukin 2 receptor, gamma chain(IL2RG), which is a common gamma chain shared by the receptors of various cytokines, including interleukine 2, 4, 7, 9, and 15. IL7R has been shown to play a critical role in the development of immune cells called lymphocytes-specifically in a process known as V(D)J recombination. This protein is also found to control the accessibility of a region of the genome that contains the T-cell receptor gamma gene, by STAT5 and histone acetylation. What"s more, IL7R antagonism is efficacious in treatment of EAE through its effects on Th17 cells and is a potential treatment for MS.