Regulation of Human B Cell Proliferation and Differentiation by Interleukin 2

Abstract

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) was initially identified as a T cell-derived lymphokine that specifically maintains the growth of activated T cells. Recently, however, it has been demonstrated that B cells can also be induced to express receptors for IL-2 (1). Moreover, a number of functional studies have suggested that IL-2 might play a direct role in B cell activation (2,3). This contention remains controversial however since other reports have suggested that the effect of IL-2 on B cells is an indirect one resulting from an action on contaminating T cells (4).