Interleukin-7 induced transcriptome differences of CD4+ T cells with or w/o additional T cell activation (TCA)

Gene expression analyses of CD4+ T cells from three healthy donors cultured in the presence or absence of IL-7 for 6h and (for samples 6 to 12) after additional 16h TCA by CD3/CD28 stimulation. CD4+ T cells were purified of PBMC from three healthy volunteers by magnetic cell sorting (IMag, BD Bioscience) following manufacturer’s instructions. An enrichment purity > 95% was confirmed by flow cytometry and 1 x 106 CD4+ T cells were then cultured in 96-well round bottom plates (2x105/well) in the presence or absence of IL-7 for 6 h. TCA was induced after pre-culture with IL-7 or w/o for 6 h by adding CD3/CD28 beads for additional 16 h of culture.