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A lentiviral screen for novel regulators of IL-7R[alpha] in a pre-B cell line

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Title: A lentiviral screen for novel regulators of IL-7R[alpha] in a pre-B cell line
Author: Trajman, Lily Christine
Other Contributors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology.
Advisor: Jianzhu Chen.
Department: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology.
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Issue Date: 2009
Abstract: IL-7R[alpha] is one component of the heterodimeric IL-7R[alpha] receptor, and signaling through this receptor is essential for murine T and B cell development as well as human T cell development. IL-7R[alpha] signaling is also responsible for homeostatic proliferation of T cells in lymphopenic hosts, as well as maintenance of naïve and memory CD8+ T cells in the periphery. A number of regulators of IL-7R[alpha][alpha] have been identified, but the complex processes underlying fine control of IL-7R[alpha][alpha] expression are poorly understood. The RNAi Consortium's lentivirus-based shRNA library targeting murine kinases and phosphatases has allowed large scale screening for modulators of IL-7R[alpha][alpha] surface expression. This library provides shRNAs in the pLKO. 1 lentiviral vector targeting 1278 known kinases and phosphatases. Analysis of the FACS-based assay identified 38 potential regulators of IL-7R[alpha][alpha] in a pre-B cell line. Subsequent validation of five of the hits confirmed known pathways of IL-7R regulation and also pointed to new potential points of regulatory control. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) regulates a number of cell signaling pathways that promote survival, proliferation and increased metabolism. In mammals the Class I family of PI3Ks consists of four different catalytic subunits, which can pair with any of six different regulatory subunits. PI3K was recently shown to regulate the expression of the interleukin-7 receptor alpha chain (IL-7R[alpha][alpha]) via the Foxol transcription factor.(cont.) Because IL-7R signaling is vital for murine B and T cell development, cells use a variety of mechanisms to maintain tight control of the expression of IL-7R[alpha][alpha]. Here we utilize sequential knockdown of the four Class I PI3K catalytic subunits to demonstrate that each plays a distinct role in separate pathways leading to the activation of Akt and the expression of total Foxol protein.
Description: Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 2009.In title on title page, [alpha] appears as lower case Greek letter.Includes bibliographical references.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/47885
Keywords: Biology.

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