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Review

Nature Reviews Immunology 9, 480–490 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nri2580

New insights into the regulation of T cells by |[gamma]|c family cytokines

Yrina Rochman , Rosanne Spolski & Warren J. Leonard

Common cytokine receptor γ-chain (γc) family cytokines have crucial roles in the development, proliferation, survival and differentiation of multiple cell lineages of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. In this Review, we focus on our current understanding of the distinct and overlapping effects of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-7, IL-9, IL-15 and IL-21, as well as the IL-7-related cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), on the survival and proliferation of conventional αβ T cells, γ|[delta]| T cells and regulatory T cells. This knowledge potentially allows for the therapeutic manipulation of immune responses for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, allergic diseases and immunodeficiency, as well as for vaccine development.