Selective expansion followed by profound deletion of mature V beta 8.3+ T cells in vivo after exposure to the superantigenic lectin Urtica dioica agglutinin.
Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) is a superantigen that, in vitro, binds to specific carbohydrate structures on class II and induces a sixfold enrichment of V beta 8.3+ BALB/c mice splenic T cells. Superantigens have pleiotropic effects in vivo, causing the activation, proliferation, and deletion of specific T cells, but are heterogenous in regard to their effects on T cell tolerization. We, therefore, compared the responses of peripheral T cells from adult BALB/c mice with the i.v. injection of 50 micrograms UDA or the bacterial superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) that also recognizes the V beta 8.3 gene product. The data presented indicate that activation, clonal expansion, anergy, and death of V beta 8.3+ T cells occur sequentially after UDA administration. Two days after UDA injection, the proportion of V beta 8.3+ T cells in the periphery is elevated to approximately twice that of normal mice. This expansion occurs in both CD4+ and CD8+ subsets. V beta 8.3+ T cells from UDA-primed mice are anergic to UDA restimulation and fail to proliferate or to produce IL-2. Futhermore, the proliferation of V beta 8.3+ T cells is followed by their rapid disappearance concomitant with their specific elimination by apoptosis. In 1 wk, all CD4+ V beta 8.3+ peripheral T cells are deleted. The decline of V beta 8.3+ T cells in the CD4+ subset is more than in the CD8+ subset. This occurs in thymectomized and in thymus-intact animals. Two months after UDA priming, the percentage of V beta 8.3+ T cells is still lower than in control mice.
Galelli
A
A
Institut Pasteur, Département d'Immunologie, Paris, France.
Delcourt
M
M
Wagner
M C
MC
Peumans
W
W
Truffa-Bachi
P
P
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D017635:Clonal Anergy / Q000187:drug effects; D017637:Clonal Deletion / Q000187:drug effects*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D037102:Lectins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D037121:Plant Lectins; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology
D007376:Interleukin-2; D037102:Lectins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; C048862:stinging nettle lectin