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Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine essential for the adaptive immune system; it plays a critical role in B-cell development, the proliferation and survival of memory and naive T cells, and T-cell development within the thymus. IL-7 is widely expressed across numerous tissues, including lymphoid organs—such as the bone marrow, thymus, lymph nodes, and spleen—as well as non-lymphoid sites, including the skin, lungs, intestines, and liver.

IL-7 primarily exerts its biological functions by activating the IL-7 receptor (IL-7R). The IL-7R is a heterodimer composed of the IL-7Rα chain (CD127)—which is shared by several cytokines, including IL-4, IL-9, IL-15, and IL-21—and the common γ chain (CD132; IL-2Rγ). IL-7 and IL-7Rα promote cell survival and inhibit apoptosis primarily by activating signaling pathways mediated by JAK, STAT, and PI3K-AKT. IL-7 possesses potent immunomodulatory properties; it can act directly or indirectly on tumor cells to exert anti-tumor effects by enhancing tumor eradication or adoptive immunity. However, IL-7 may also exert potential pro-tumor effects by activating downstream JAK/STAT and PI3K-AKT pathways.

The IL-7 Effector Reporter Cell model—a reporter gene-based drug target model—accurately simulates the in vivo signal transduction process of IL-7. The underlying principle is illustrated in the figure below.

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the IL-7 Effector Reporter Cell Model

Figure 2. Recombinant IL7 Effector Reporter Cell stably expressing IL7R&CD132.

Figure 3. Dose Response of Recombinant Human IL7 in IL7 Effector Reporter Cell(C20).

Figure 4. Inhibition of Human rhIL7-induced Reporter Activity by hIL7 Neutralization Ab in IL7 Effector Reporter Cell(C20).

Cell Resuscitation
1)Rapidly thaw the frozen cells in a 37 °C water bath for approximately 60 seconds. Once thawed (which may take slightly less or more than 60 seconds), immediately transfer the cell suspension from the cryovial into a 15 mL centrifuge tube containing 10 mL of pre-warmed  HEK293 Human IL7 Effector Reporter Cell complete culture medium.
2)Centrifuge cells at 1000 rpm for 5 min to remove medium, then resuspend cells in 5 mL of pre-warmed complete medium.
3)Transfer the cell suspension into a T25 culture flask and incubate at 37 °C with 5% CO₂.
4)After approximately 24–36 hours, replace the medium or passage the cells to remove non-adherent dead cells.

Subculturing procedure
1)When the cell density reaches the appropriate confluency for passaging, wash the cells with PBS, then add 1 mL trypsin to detach the cells. When more than 80% of the cells detach upon gently tapping the culture flask, add complete culture medium to terminate digestion. Gently pipette to obtain a single-cell suspension, transfer to a 15 mL centrifuge tube, and centrifuge at 1000 rpm for 5 minutes.

2)Discard supernatant after centrifugation. Resuspend cells in fresh medium to a single-cell suspension and transfer to a new culture flask for continued growth.

Cell Freezing
After trypsinization and centrifugation of cells from each T75 flask or 10 cm culture dish, discard the supernatant. Add 2 mL of cryopreservation medium (90% FBS + 10% DMSO), gently resuspend thoroughly, and aliquot into two cryovials. Immediately place the cryovials into a controlled-rate freezing container (e.g., Nalgene 5100-0001), fill with isopropanol to the indicated level, and store at −80 °C. After 24 hours, transfer the cryovials to liquid nitrogen for long-term storage.