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IL-21: An Executor of B Cell Fate¹

Danijela Konforte^*,, Nathalie Simard^*, and Christopher J. Paige^2,*,,

^* Division of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada; and Department of Medical Biophysics and Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

IL-21 is a type I cytokine that shares the common receptor -chain with IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-15. B cells are one of the lymphoid cell types whose development and function are regulated by IL-21. Depending on the interplay with costimulatory signals and on the developmental stage of a B cell, IL-21 can induce proliferation, differentiation into Ig-producing plasma cells, or apoptosis in both mice and humans. Alone and in combination with Th cell-derived cytokines IL-21 can regulate class switch recombination to IgG, IgA, or IgE isotypes, indicating its important role in shaping the effector function of B cells. This review highlights the role of IL-21 in B cell development, function, and disease and provides some perspectives on the future studies in this area.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This work was supported by the grants from the National Cancer Institute of Canada and by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Grant 9862. N.S. is the recipient of a graduate student scholarship from the CIHR.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Christopher J. Paige, Division of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Ontario Cancer Institute, No. 7-504, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2M9. E-mail address: paige{at}uhnres.utoronto.ca

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: c, common receptor -chain; AID, activation-induced cytidine deaminase; BAFF, B cell-activating factor (TNF family); CB, cord blood; CD40L, CD40 ligand; CSR, class switch recombination; CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia; DC, dendritic cell; GC, germinal center; MZ, marginal zone; MZA, MZ analog; PB, peripheral blood; PC, plasma cell; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SHM, somatic hypermutation; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; Tfh, T follicular helper cell; WT, wild type.

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