Clarifying the Confusion between Cytokine and Fc Receptor “Common Gamma Chain”

Abstract

The terms for the common cytokine receptor gamma chain (γc or CD132) and the Fc receptor gamma chain (FcRγ) have often been mixed or inconsistently used. This is problematic, because they are clearly distinct molecules in sequence, function, and chromosome location. However, they also share some signaling pathways and can be expressed on the same leukocytes. This makes the term “common gamma chain” potentially misleading, especially to those not in the field. To avoid future confusion, we are proposing the use of a consistent nomenclature to distinguish between the two molecules.