Abstract

Jak3 is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase that associates with the common chain of the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor and is involved in the function of the receptors for IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, and IL-15. Mice deficient in Jak3 have few T and B cells, and no natural killer cells. Herein we show that the myeloid lineages in these mice are also affected by the loss of Jak3. Mice lacking Jak3 exhibit splenomegaly by 4 months of age. Peripheral blood smears show an increase in the number of neutrophils and cells of the monocytic lineage. Flow cytometry of splenocytes and peripheral blood show a significant increase in FcgammaRII/III(FcgammaR)/Mac-1, FcgammaR/Gr-1, and FcgammaR/F4/80 double-positive cells in -/- and +/- mice compared to wild-type mice, consistent with an expansion of cells of the myeloid lineages. In addition, as the mice age, F4/80 and CD3 positive mononuclear cells infiltrate the kidneys, lungs, and liver of these mice. When Jak3-/- mice are crossed with a transgenic mouse expressing Jak3 in the T and NK cell compartments, the splenomegaly and myeloid expansion are accentuated. These data correlate with the constitutive activation of T cells in the periphery as the transgenic cells lose their expression of Jak3 with age. However, when Jak3-/- mice are crossed with RAG-1-deficient animals, no splenomegaly or myeloid expansion is apparent. These results indicate that the loss of Jak3 in the T-cell compartment drives the expansion of the myeloid lineages.