CD7

CD7 is a 40 kDa cell surface glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin superfamily, characterized by a single Ig-like domain and a cytoplasmic region rich in proline, serine, and threonine residues. It appears early in T cell and NK cell development and persists on mature T cells and NK cells. Although its reported ligand, K12/SECTM1, and its precise signaling role remain incompletely defined, CD7 is regarded as an early pan-T cell marker. Aberrant CD7 expression occurs in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and CD7-directed CAR-T approaches are being explored for T cell malignancies, with gene-editing strategies used to prevent fratricide.