Engagement of CD4 before TCR triggering regulates both Bax- and Fas (CD95)-mediated apoptosis.

In the present study, we have aimed at clarifying the CD4-dependent molecular mechanisms that regulate human memory T cell susceptibility to both Fas (CD95)-dependent and Bcl-2-dependent apoptotic pathways following antigenic challenge. To address this issue, we used an experimental system of viral and alloantigen-specific T cell lines and clones and two ligands of CD4 molecules, Leu-3a mAb and HIV gp120. We demonstrate that CD4 engagement before TCR triggering suppresses the TCR-mediated neosynthesis of the Flice-like inhibitory protein and transforms memory T cells from a CD95-resistant to a CD95-susceptible phenotype. Moreover, evidence that the apoptotic programs were executed while Fas ligand mRNA expression was inhibited led us to analyze Bcl-2-dependent pathways. The data show that the engagement of CD4 separately from TCR influences the expression of the proapoptotic protein Bax independently of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, whereas Ag activation coordinately modulates both Bax and Bcl-2. The increased expression of Bax and the consequent dissipation of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (DeltaPsim) suggest a novel immunoregulatory function of CD4 and demonstrate that both passive cell death and activation-induced cell death are operative in CD4+ memory T cells. Furthermore, analysis of the mechanisms by which IL-2 and IL-4 cytokines exert their protective function on CD4+ T cells in the presence of soluble CD4 ligands shows that they were able to revert susceptibility to Bax-mediated but not to CD95-dependent apoptotic pathways.

TCR engagement regulates differential responsiveness of human memory T cells to Fas (CD95)-mediated apoptosis.

In this work, we have tried to establish whether human memory T cells may be protected from Fas (CD95)-induced apoptosis when correctly activated by Ag, and not protected when nonspecifically or incorrectly activated. In particular, we wanted to investigate the molecular mechanisms that regulate the fate of memory T cells following an antigenic challenge. To address this issue, we chose an experimental system that closely mimics physiological T cell activation such as human T cell lines and clones specific for viral peptides or alloantigens. We demonstrate that memory T cells acquire an activation-induced cell death (AICD)-resistant phenotype when TCRs are properly engaged by specific Ag bound to MHC molecules. Ag concentration and costimulation are critical parameters in regulating the protective effect. The analysis of the mechanisms involved in the block of CD95 signal transduction pathways revealed that the crucial events are the inhibition of CD95-associated IL-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE)-like protease (FLICE) activation and poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase cleavage, and the mRNA expression of FLICE-like inhibitory protein. Furthermore, we have observed that TCR-mediated neosynthesis of FLICE-like inhibitory protein mRNA is suppressed either by protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors or cyclosporin A. In conclusion, the present analysis of the effects of TCR triggering on the regulation of AICD suggests that AICD could be inhibited in human memory T cells activated in vivo by a foreign Ag, but may become operative when the Ag has been cleared.

Tyrosine 474 of ZAP-70 is required for association with the Shc adaptor and for T-cell antigen receptor-dependent gene activation.

The protein tyrosine kinase ZAP-70 plays a central role in T-cell activation. Following receptor engagement, ZAP-70 is recruited to the phosphorylated subunits of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR). This event results in ZAP-70 activation and in association of ZAP-70 with a number of signaling proteins. Among these is the Shc adaptor, which couples the activated TCR to Ras. Shc interaction with ZAP-70 is mediated by the Shc PTB domain. The inhibitory effect of a Shc mutant containing the isolated PTB domain suggests that Shc interaction with ZAP-70 might be required for TCR signaling. Here, we show that a point mutation (Phe474) of the putative Shc binding site on ZAP-70, spanning tyrosine 474, prevented ZAP-70 interaction with Shc and the subsequent binding of Shc to phospho-zeta. Neither ZAP-70 catalytic activity nor the pattern of protein phosphorylation induced by TCR triggering was affected by this mutation. However expression of the Phe474 ZAP-70 mutant resulted in impaired TCR-dependent gene activation. ZAP-70 could effectively phosphorylate Shc in vitro. Only the CH domain, which contains the two Grb2 binding sites on Shc, was phosphorylated by ZAP-70. Both Grb2 binding sites were excellent substrates for ZAP-70. The data show that Tyr474 on ZAP-70 is required for TCR signaling and suggest that Shc association with ZAP-70 and the resulting phosphorylation of Shc might be an obligatory step in linking the activated TCR to the Ras pathway.

NF-AT-luciferase reporter T cell lines as tools to screen immunosuppressive drugs.

The development of safer analogues of immunosuppressants such as cyclosporin A and FK506 is an important goal for a number of clinical applications ranging from transplantation to the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Here we show the generation and the characterization of Jurkat T cell lines stably transfected with a reporter construct containing the firefly luciferase gene under the control of NF-AT. These lines specifically respond in a cyclosporin A-sensitive manner to T cell antigen receptor-derived signals. Due to the high levels of luciferase activity expression fewer than 1000 cells are required for detection of luciferase. In addition, a simplified luciferase assay allows to reduce both the manipulations and the time required for the assay, making these lines potentially useful models for the automated screening of cyclosporin A and FK506 analogues.

Gene activating and proapoptotic potential are independent properties of different CD4 epitopes.

CD4 engagement triggers an early signaling cascade which initiates late events such as transcription factor activation. The outcome of CD4 engagement is T-cell commitment to alternative, dramatically different fates, such as activation and apoptosis. We have tested a panel of anti-CD4 mAbs specific for different CD4 epitopes, as well as HIV-1 gp120, for the capacity to activate crucial early events such as enhancement of p56(lck) kinase activity and Shc phosphorylation. The same CD4 epitopes were characterized for their capacity both to deliver a gene activating signal and to program T-cells to activation dependent death. No correlation could be found between capacity of specific CD4 epitopes to deliver a gene activating signal and capacity to prime T-cells to apoptosis, suggesting that gene activating and proapoptotic potential are independent functions of CD4 epitopes. Furthermore, while triggering of the calcium pathway appears critical in NF-AT activation, optimal p56(lck) activation and Shc phosphorylation might be required for initiation of the apoptotic pathway.

Cyclosporin A sensitivity of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat identifies distinct p56lck-dependent pathways activated by CD4 triggering.

The CD4 co-receptor interacts with nonpolymorphic regions of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells. This interaction results in the mobilization of a number of signaling mediators shared by the T cell receptor (TcR) signaling pathway and thus amplifies TcR-generated signals. We have investigated the outcome of CD4 engagement on the activation of both cellular transcription factors and the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR). We show that CD4 triggering activates different pathways of HIV LTR activation which can be identified by their sensitivity to the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A. The response of the inducible cellular transcription factors involved in HIVLTR activation shows that both nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B and NF-AT mediate a cyclosporin A-sensitive response to CD4, while AP-1 is at least in part responsible for the cyclosporin A-insensitive response. Both pathways can, however, be blocked by a kinase-defective dominant negative p56lck mutant, supporting an essential role for p56lck kinase activity in CD4-dependent signal transduction. A functional analysis of different CD4 epitopes using either anti-CD4 mAb or HIV-1 gp120 reveals a common epitope-specific activation of both the LTR and of the transcription factors NF-kappa B and NF-AT.

The aminoterminal phosphotyrosine binding domain of Shc associates with ZAP-70 and mediates TCR dependent gene activation.

T-cell antigen receptor stimulation results in recruitment to the zeta chain and phosphorylation both of the syk family protein tyrosine kinase ZAP-70 and of the Shc adaptor protein, which transduces activating signals to Ras. Both ZAP-70 and Ras are required for T-cell activation. We have investigated the functional link between these two molecules in TCR signaling. She was found to associate with ZAP-70 in response to TCR triggering. This association was dependent on the presence of the aminoterminal phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain of She. The analysis of She binding to a potential PTB domain binding site on ZAP-70 confirmed the interaction of the She PTB domain with ZAP-70 and identified the ZAP-70 phosphotyrosine residue involved in this interaction. To test the role of the She PTB domain in transducing TCR derived signals we measured the effects of the isolated She PTB domain on the activation of the T-cell specific transcription factor NF-AT. The isolated She PTB domain was designed to compete non productively with endogenous She for binding to up-stream tyrosine phosphorylated proteins and thus interfere with coupling to regulators of Ras activation. A significant inhibition of NF-AT activation by TCR triggering was observed, showing a functional involvement of She in TCR signaling through its PTB domain and suggesting an important role for She association with ZAP-70.

Distinct signaling properties identify functionally different CD4 epitopes.

The CD4 coreceptor interacts with non-polymorphic regions of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules on antigen-presenting cells and contributes to T cell activation. We have investigated the effect of CD4 triggering on T cell activating signals in a lymphoma model using monoclonal antibodies (mAb) which recognize different CD4 epitopes. We demonstrate that CD4 triggering delivers signals capable of activating the NF-AT transcription factor which is required for interleukin-2 gene expression. Whereas different anti-CD4 mAb or HIV-1 gp120 could all trigger activation of the protein tyrosine kinases p56lck and p59fyn and phosphorylation of the Shc adaptor protein, which mediates signals to Ras, they differed significantly in their ability to activate NF-AT. Lack of full activation of NF-AT could be correlated to a dramatically reduced capacity to induce calcium flux and could be complemented with a calcium ionophore. The results identify functionally distinct epitopes on the CD4 coreceptor involved in activation of the Ras/protein kinase C and calcium pathways.

Interactions between the tyrosine kinases p56lck, p59fyn and p50csk in CD4 signaling in T cells.

Interaction of the CD4 co-receptor with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules during antigen presentation results in enhancement of antigen receptor signaling. The synergism between the two receptors is believed to result from the juxtaposition of the CD4-associated tyrosine kinase p56lck with the cytoplasmic domains of CD3 complex components. Here, we report that cross-linking of CD4 on the surface of Jurkat cells using monoclonal antibodies results in activation of the CD3-associated kinase p59fyn. Co-cross-linking of CD4 and CD3 results in synergistic activation of p59fyn. The p59fyn kinase is also hyperactive in a Jurkat cell line stably transfected with a constitutively active p56lck mutant, indicating that p56lck mediates CD4 activation of p59fyn. In support of this hypothesis, expression of a dominant inhibitory mutant of p59fyn blocks CD4 signals involved in gene activation. In addition, the p59fyn dominant inhibitor mutant blocks gene-activating signals induced by expression of a constitutively active mutant of p56lck. Overexpression of the regulatory kinase p50csk, which attenuates TcR signaling by inactivation of p59fyn, inhibits signaling from the constitutively active form of p56lck. Taken together, these data suggest that CD4/p56lck enhancement of TcR signaling is, at least in part, mediated by activation of p59fyn, and may be regulated by p50csk.

p56lck plays a key role in transducing apoptotic signals in T cells.

The CD4 receptor synergizes with the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) in helper T-cell activation. However CD4 cross-linking in the absence of simultaneous TCR engagement leaves the cells primed to activation dependent apoptosis. To assess the role of the CD4 associated protein tyrosine kinase p56lck in CD4 priming to apoptosis we have constructed Jurkat T-cell lines stably transfected with a constitutively active form of p56lck. These cells were constitutively primed to undergo apoptosis upon TCR crosslinking with specific antibodies. In addition the Jurkat JCaM1 line, which is defective for p56lck expression, was resistant to TCR induced apoptosis. These data indicate that p56lck is required for T-cell apoptosis and that CD4 priming of T-cells for antigen dependent apoptosis is due to inappropriate or partial activation of the p56lck signal transduction pathway.

Inhibition of CD4/p56lck signaling by a dominant negative mutant of the Shc adaptor protein.

T-cell antigen receptor stimulation results in phosphorylation of the SH2 containing Shc proteins and recruitment of the Grb2/mSos complex suggesting that Shc proteins are involved in transducing T-cell activating signals to Ras. We have measured the effects of the isolated Shc-SH2 domain and the dominant negative RasN17 protein on activation of the T-cell specific transcription factor NF-AT. The isolated Shc-SH2 domain was designed to compete with endogenous Shc binding to upstream tyrosine phosphorylated proteins and to interfere with coupling to regulators of Ras activation. We have demonstrated that both the Shc-SH2 domain and the RasN17 protein significantly inhibited NF-AT activation by the CD4 coreceptor and the CD4 associated tyrosine kinase p56lck. In contrast, only the RasN17 protein reduced NF-AT activation by the TCR/CD3 complex. Furthermore, tyrosine kinase activity and p56lck protein were found in complexes immunoprecipitated with Shc specific antisera after CD4 triggering but not after CD3 triggering. These results indicate that both CD4 and CD3 signal to Ras and that this signaling is mediated by independent pathways of activation of the Shc adaptor protein.

Inhibition of T-cell antigen receptor signaling by overexpression of p120GAP.

T-cell antigen receptor triggering results in activation of protein kinase C and mobilization of calcium. These two signals are necessary and sufficient to activate the T-cell specific transcription factor NF-AT, which cooperates with other transcription factors activated by accessory signals to initiate expression of interleukin 2 and its receptor. The protein kinase C mediated pathway involves activation of ras proteins. In a Jurkat cell model of T-cell activation, treatment with antigen receptor agonists results in induction of expression of a reporter gene under the control of a NF-AT dependent promoter. Overexpression of the ras GTPase activating protein p120GAP in these cells caused a significant inhibition of T-cell antigen receptor mediated induction, suggesting a role for p120GAP in regulation of ras. The inhibition was overcome by expression of a valine-12 mutant ras which lacks GTPase activity.