Uncoupling p70(s6) kinase activation and proliferation: rapamycin-resistant proliferation of human CD8(+) T lymphocytes.

Rapamycin is a fungal macrolide that inhibits the proliferation of T cells. Studies in both animals and humans have found that rapamycin significantly reduces graft rejection. However, though CD8(+) T cells are involved in graft infiltration and rejection, little is known regarding the effects of rapamycin on CD8(+) human T cell responses. In this study, we examined the mechanism of rapamycin-induced inhibition of Ag-driven activation of CD8(+) T cells. Surprisingly, a heterogeneous proliferative response in the presence of rapamycin was observed among different Ag-specific CD8(+) T cell clones; this was also observed in CD8(+) peripheral blood T cells activated with TCR cross-linking ex vivo. Inhibition of T cell proliferation by rapamycin was controlled by both the strength of signal delivered through the Ag receptor as well as the specific costimulatory signals received by the T cell. Rapamycin-resistant proliferation occurred despite inhibition of p70(s6) kinase activity. Moreover, rapamycin-resistant proliferation of the CD8(+) T cell clones was blocked by anti-IL-2 Abs, suggesting that while some of the parallel pathways triggered by IL-2R signaling are sensitive to the effects of rapamycin, others account for the Ag-driven rapamycin resistance. These data provide a new framework for examining the specific mechanism of action of rapamycin in human disease.

CD28/CTLA-4 and CD80/CD86 families: signaling and function.

T cell stimulation in the absence of a second, costimulatory signal can lead to anergy or the induction of cell death. CD28 is a major T cell costimulatory receptor, the coengagement of which can prevent anergy and cell death. The CD28 receptor is a member of a complex family of polypeptides that includes at least two receptors and two ligands. Cytotoxic lymphocyte-associated molecule-4 (CTLA-4, CD152) is the second member of the CD28 receptor family. The ligands or counterreceptors for these two proteins are the B7 family members, CD80 (B7-1) and CD86 (B7-2). This article reviews the CD28/CTLA4 and CD80/CD86 families, and outlines the functional outcomes and biochemical signaling pathways recruited after CD28 ligation.

CD80 and CD86 are not equivalent in their ability to induce the tyrosine phosphorylation of CD28.

Ligation of either CD80 (B7-1) or CD86 (B7-2), two principal ligands for CD28, is thought to skew the immune response toward Th1 or Th2 differentiation. We have examined early signal transduction pathways recruited following T cell stimulation with either CD80 or CD86. Purified human peripheral T cells or Jurkat T cells were stimulated with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing either human CD80 (CHO-CD80) or human CD86 (CHO-CD86) or with anti-CD28 monoclonal antibody (mAb). In the presence of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, both CHO-CD80 and CHO-CD86, like anti-CD28 mAb, were capable of stimulating cytokine production from both human peripheral T cells and Jurkat T cells. Both CHO-CD80 and CHO-CD86, in the presence of anti-CD3 mAb, costimulated NFAT-dependent transcriptional activation. Several intracellular signaling proteins, such as CBL and VAV, were phosphorylated on tyrosine in response to CD80, CD86, and anti-CD28 mAb. Surprisingly, although stimulation of Jurkat T cells with either CHO-CD80 or anti-CD28 mAb resulted in robust tyrosine phosphorylation of CD28 itself, ligation with CHO-CD86 was unable to induce detectable CD28 tyrosyl phosphorylation over a range of stimulation conditions. In addition, the association of phosphoinositide 3-kinase with CD28 and enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of phospholipase Cgamma were seen after anti-CD28 mAb and CHO-CD80 stimulation but to a much lesser extent after CHO-CD86 stimulation. Thus, ligation of CD28 with either CD80 or CD86 leads to shared early signal transduction events such as the tyrosine phosphorylation of CBL and VAV, to NFAT-mediated transcriptional activation, and to the costimulation of interleukin-2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor production. However, CD80 and CD86 also induce distinct signal transduction pathways including the tyrosine phosphorylation of CD28 and phospholipase Cgamma1 and the SH2-dependent association of phosphoinositide 3-kinase with CD28. These quantitative, if not qualitative, differences between signaling initiated by these two ligands for CD28 may contribute to functional differences (e.g. Th1 or Th2 differentiation) in T cell responses.

Uncoupling activation-dependent HS1 phosphorylation from nuclear factor of activated T cells transcriptional activation in Jurkat T cells: differential signaling through CD3 and the costimulatory receptors CD2 and CD28.

CD3, CD2, and CD28 are functionally distinct receptors on T lymphocytes. Engagement of any of these receptors induces the rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of a shared group of intracellular signaling proteins, including Vav, Cbl, p85 phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and the Src family kinases Lck and Fyn. Ligation of CD3 also induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of HS1, a 75-kDa hematopoietic cell-specific intracellular signaling protein of unknown function. We have examined changes in HS1 phosphorylation after differential stimulation of CD3, CD2, and CD28 to elucidate its role in T cells and to further delineate the signaling pathways recruited by these receptors. Unlike ligation of CD3, stimulation with anti-CD28 mAb or CHO cells expressing the CD28 ligands CD80 or CD86 did not lead to tyrosine phosphorylation of HS1 in Jurkat T cells. Additionally, no tyrosine phosphorylation of HS1 was induced by mitogenic pairs of anti-CD2 mAbs capable of activating the transcription factor NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells). Costimulation through CD28 and/or CD2 did not modulate the CD3-dependent phosphorylation of HS1. In vivo studies indicated that CD3-induced HSI phosphorylation was dependent upon both the Src family tyrosine kinase Lck and the tyrosine phosphatase CD45, did not require MEK1 kinase activity, and was regulated by protein kinase C activation. Thus, although CD3, CD28, and CD2 activate many of the same signaling molecules, they differed in their capacity to induce the tyrosine phosphorylation of HSI. Furthermore, activation-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of HS1 was not required for NFAT transcriptional activation.