Molecular Cloning and Expression of Cytokine Genes Related to Induction of Allograft Transplantation Tolerance in Rats

细胞因子是由白细胞产生的可溶性蛋白质，在许多情况下是其他细胞类型，其充当细胞之间的化学通讯者，但本身并不作为效应分子。大多数细胞因子是生长或分化因子，它们通常作用于造血系统内的细胞。在这项资助申请中，我们将重点关注细胞因子和这些细胞因子的抗体的产生，这些细胞因子和抗体在器官移植耐受或器官排斥中可能很重要。我们想用分子生物学技术合成这些细胞因子。这些生物材料将用于治疗动物并研究其对移植移植物存活的生物学效应。如果细胞因子治疗确实延长了移植物的存活，那么参与免疫反应的机制将进一步研究。我们的目标是开发出可以应用于帮助器官移植患者并接受最具体治疗的策略。

Cytokines are soluble proteins produced by leucocytes, and in many cases other cell types, which act as chemical communicators between cells, but not as effector molecules in their own right. Most of the cytokines are growth or differentiation factors and they generally act on cells within the haematopoietic system. In this grant application we will focus on the production of cytokines and antibodies to these cytokines, that are likely to be important in organ transplantation tolerance or organ rejection. We would like to synthesize these cytokines using molecular biological techniques. These biological materials will be used to treat animals and study their biological effect on transplanted graft survival. If the cytokine treatment does prolong graft survival, what is the mechanisms involved in the immune responses will be further studied. Our aim is to develop strategies that couold be applied to help pateints with organ transplants and receive most specific therapies.