Fatemeh Sadat Toghraie - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran.
Seyedeh Masoumeh Sharifzadeh - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran - Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Amin Ramezani - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran - Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Elham Mahmoudi Maymand - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran.
Mahsa Yazdanpanah-Samani - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran.
Abbas Ghaderi - Shiraz Institute for Cancer Research, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical science, Shiraz, Iran - Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Background: The critical role of interleukin-۷ (IL-۷) in homeostatic proliferation and T cell survival has made it a promising cytokine for the treatment of various clinical conditions, especially those associated with lymphopenia. Methods: In the present study we expressed recombinant human interleukin-۷ (rhIL-۷) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K۱ cells. CHO-K۱ cells were stably transfected with both circular and linear forms of the pBud-hIL-۷ recombinant by electroporation. Expression of rhIL-۷ in CHO-K۱ cells was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and dot and western blots. Results: On western blots of transformed cells, a single ۲۵ kDa band was observed, consistent with the expected molecular weight of glycosylated hIL-۷. No significant expression difference was observed between cells transfected with circular or linear plasmids. Conclusions: We established a stable CHO-K۱ cell line expressing rhIL-۷, which we consider to be a promising system for the production of rhIL-۷ as a biopharmaceutical.

CHO cells, Interleukin-۷, Post-translational modifications, Stable transfection.