Faculty Opinions recommendation of TCR signaling by conventional CD4+ T cells is required for optimal maintenance of peripheral regulatory T cell numbers.

Author(s):  
Talal Chatila
Blood ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Gollmer ◽  
François Asperti-Boursin ◽  
Yoshihiko Tanaka ◽  
Klaus Okkenhaug ◽  
Bart Vanhaesebroeck ◽  
...  

Abstract CD4+ T cells use the chemokine receptor CCR7 to home to and migrate within lymphoid tissue, where T-cell activation takes place. Using primary T-cell receptor (TCR)–transgenic (tg) CD4+ T cells, we explored the effect of CCR7 ligands, in particular CCL21, on T-cell activation. We found that the presence of CCL21 during early time points strongly increased in vitro T-cell proliferation after TCR stimulation, correlating with increased expression of early activation markers. CCL21 costimulation resulted in increased Ras- and Rac-GTP formation and enhanced phosphorylation of Akt, MEK, and ERK but not p38 or JNK. Kinase-dead PI3KδD910A/D910A or PI3Kγ-deficient TCR-tg CD4+ T cells showed similar responsiveness to CCL21 costimulation as control CD4+ T cells. Conversely, deficiency in the Rac guanine exchange factor DOCK2 significantly impaired CCL21-mediated costimulation in TCR-tg CD4+ T cells, concomitant with impaired Rac- but not Ras-GTP formation. Using lymph node slices for live monitoring of T-cell behavior and activation, we found that G protein-coupled receptor signaling was required for early CD69 expression but not for Ca2+ signaling. Our data suggest that the presence of CCL21 during early TCR signaling lowers the activation threshold through Ras- and Rac-dependent pathways leading to increased ERK phosphorylation.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 3110-3110
Author(s):  
Erwan R. Piriou ◽  
Christine Jansen ◽  
Karel van Dort ◽  
Iris De Cuyper ◽  
Nening M. Nanlohy ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: EBV-specific CD8+ T cells have been extensively studied in various settings, and appear to play a major role in the control of EBV-related malignancies. In contrast, it is still unclear whether EBV-specific CD4+ T cells play a role in vivo. To study this question, an assay was developed to measure the CD4+ T-cell response towards two EBV antigens, in both healthy (n=14) and HIV-infected subjects (n=23). In addition, both HAART-treated (n=12) and untreated HIV+ individuals (n=14) - including progressors to EBV-related lymphoma - were studied longitudinally. Methods: EBV-specific CD4+ T cells were stimulated with peptide pools from latent protein EBNA1 and lytic protein BZLF1, and detected by measurement of IFNg-production. Results: After direct ex vivo stimulation, EBNA1 or BZLF1-specific IFNg- (and/or IL2) producing CD4+ T cell numbers were low, and measurable in less than half of the subjects studied (either HIV- and HIV+). Therefore, PBMC were cultured for 12 days in the presence of peptides and IL2 (from day 3), and then restimulated with peptides, allowing specific and reproducible expansion of EBV-specific CD4+ T cells, independent of HLA type and ex vivo antigen processing. Interestingly, numbers of EBV-specific CD4+ T cells inversely correlated with EBV viral load, implying an important role for EBV-specific CD4+ T cells in the control of EBV in vivo. Untreated HIV-infected individuals had a lower CD4+ T cell response to EBNA1 and BZLF1 as compared to healthy EBV carriers and HAART-treated HIV+ subjects. In longitudinal samples, EBNA1-specific, but not BZLF1-specific T-cell numbers increased after HAART, while EBV load was not affected by treatment. In all the progressors to EBV-related lymphoma, EBV-specific CD4+ T cells were lost at least 24 months before lymphoma diagnosis. Conclusions: Both cross-sectional and longitudinal data suggest an important role for EBV-specific CD4+ T cells in the control of EBV-related malignancies. Furthermore, it seems that HAART treatment leads to recovery of EBNA1-specific, but not BZLF1-specific CD4+ T-cell responses, implying changes in the latency pattern of EBV, despite an unaltered cell-associated EBV DNA load. Thus, early HAART treatment might prevent loss of specific CD4+ T-cell help and progression to NHL.


2013 ◽  
Vol 190 (10) ◽  
pp. 5057-5064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela X. Zhou ◽  
Lina Kozhaya ◽  
Hodaka Fujii ◽  
Derya Unutmaz

1999 ◽  
Vol 190 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Bender ◽  
Tom Mitchell ◽  
John Kappler ◽  
Philippa Marrack

We investigated the mechanism by which α/β T cells expand upon transfer to T cell–deficient host mice by injecting carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester–labeled T cells into mice depleted of T cells by sublethal irradiation. We found that CD4+ T cells divided when transferred to irradiated hosts and that the division of more than half of these cells required class II expression. However, division of transferred CD4+ T cells did not occur in irradiated hosts that expressed class II molecules occupied solely by the peptide responsible for thymic selection, indicating that peptides distinct from those involved in thymic selection cause the division of CD4+ T cells in irradiated mice. These data establish that class II–bound peptides control the expansion of CD4+ T cells transferred to T cell–deficient hosts and suggest that the same peptides contribute to the maintenance of T cell numbers in normal mice.


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