介白素15號受器(interleukin-15 receptor; IL-15R)是由α、β和γ鍵所組成。其中IL-15受器α鍵本身對IL-15具有高度的親和力,然而β和γ鍵受器則是對IL-15和介白素2號(Interleukin-2; IL-2)皆具有中度的親和力。之前的研究指出在IL-2受器α鍵,IL-2/IL-15受器β鍵,或IL-2之基因剔除之小鼠會產生早期且嚴重性的自體免疫反應,然而,這些症狀卻未曾在IL-15受器α鍵基因缺損之小鼠上發現。我們之前已在IL-15受器α鍵基因剔除,且年齡大於六個月之成年母鼠發現類紅斑性狼瘡症狀,卻不曾發現於野生型的對照組。在這篇論文裡,我證實了IL-15受器α鍵基因剔除的小鼠在胸線及周邊組織表現較差的免疫耐受性。這些結果可能提供了構成成年IL-15受器α鍵基因缺損小鼠產生自體免疫疾病的一些條件,因為其較差的免疫耐受性會造成自體反應的T細胞累積,進而造成自體免疫疾病。
Interleukin-15 receptor (IL-15R) contains α, β and γ chains. The α chain by itself binds to IL-15 with high affinity, while β and γ chains are intermediate affinity receptors for both Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-15. Previous studies showed that mice deficient of IL-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα), IL-2/15 receptor β (IL-2/15Rβ) or IL-2 developed early progressing severe autoimmune diseases, a phenotype not observed in IL-15Rα knockout (IL-15Rα-/-) mice. We found that the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)-like symptoms in female IL-15Rα-/- aged female mice older than 6 months but not in wild type (WT) counterpart. In this thesis, I demonstrated that IL-15Rα-/- mice exhibited inefficient tolerance in the thymus and in the periphery. These results may provide the mechanisms underlying the progressing autoimmune diseases in aged IL-15Rα-/- mice, which is the accumulation of autoimmune T cells resulted from inefficient immune tolerance.