Expression of the mouse interleukin-2 receptor γ chain in various cell populations of the thymus and spleen

Expression of the γ chain, which is shared among functional receptor complexes for interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4 and IL-7, was examined with hematopoietic cells in mouse thymus and spleen by flow cytometry. The γ chain was expressed in cell populations from the spleen. Stimulation with concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide caused fluctuation in expression of the γ chain in T and B cells, respectively. T lineage cells developing in the adult thymus expressed the γ chain. Fetal thymus at day 15 contained mostly immature thymocytes, which also expressed the γ chain. These results demonstrate that the γ chains is widely expressed in T lineage cells, probably indicating that the γ chain plays a role not only in the proliferation of mature hematopoietic cells but also in the development of immature cells through signal transduction as a common receptor subunit for multiple cytokines.