Normal responsiveness of CTLA-4-deficient anti-viral cytotoxic T cells.
CTLA-4 has been proposed to negatively regulate immune responses, and mice deficient for CTLA-4 expression succumb to a lymphoproliferative disorder within a few weeks after birth. This study assessed the responsiveness of CTLA-4-deficient T cells expressing a class I-restricted TCR specific for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). The kinetics of T cell proliferation were studied in vitro after stimulation of T cells with full and partial T cell agonists. No gross abnormalities in CTLA-4-deficient T cells could be detected. Using adoptive transfer experiments, T cell responses were also measured in vivo after infection with LCMV. Low dose infection with LCMV leads to strong expansion of specific T cells followed by a reduction in T cells that parallels the elimination of Ag. The kinetics of T cell expansion and elimination after low dose LCMV infection were not affected by the absence of CTLA-4. High dose infection of mice with LCMV leads to a transient expansion of T cells followed by T cell exhaustion, where all specific T cells are eliminated. T cell exhaustion also occurred in the absence of CTLA-4. Thus, surprisingly, the absence of CTLA-4 did not interfere with T cell activation, down-regulation of ongoing T cell responses after the elimination of Ag, or the exhaustion of T cell responses in the presence of excessive amounts of Ag.
Bachmann
M F
MF
Department of Medical Biophysics, Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada.
Waterhouse
P
P
Speiser
D E
DE
McKall-Faienza
K
K
Mak
T W
TW
Ohashi
P S
PS
D000069594:Abatacept; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; D018796:Immunoconjugates; D008216:Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*
D015703:Antigens, CD; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation; D060908:CTLA-4 Antigen; C556707:Ctla4 protein, mouse; D018796:Immunoconjugates; D010455:Peptides; D000069594:Abatacept