The tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 influences thymocyte selection by setting TCR signaling thresholds.
Modulation of the strength of signals from the TCR determines the outcome of positive and negative selection in thymocyte development. Previous studies have demonstrated that SHP-1 plays a role in determining signal strength from the TCR. Here, we have taken a genetic approach to test whether SHP-1 plays a role in T cell selection in the thymus. Experiments in which a dominant negative mutant of SHP-1 was expressed in the BYDP hybridoma cell line confirmed that SHP-1 regulated TCR signaling in a cell-autonomous manner and suggested that Lck is one of its targets. To examine the role of SHP-1 in T cell development, we crossed the ovalbumin-specific DO11.10 TCR transgene onto the motheaten background, which lacks SHP-1 expression. Analysis of the progeny of these crosses provided evidence that SHP-1 regulates thymocyte selection: (i) flow cytometric analyses revealed alterations in the percentages of thymocyte subpopulations in the me/me background; (ii) ex vivo deletion experiments demonstrated that me/me:Tg thymocytes undergo negative selection at lower concentrations of OVA peptide compared to +/+:Tg thymocytes; and (iii) ex vivo proliferation analyses indicated that me/me:Tg thymocytes were hyper-sensitive to stimulation by the specific OVA peptide. Our observation that the absence of SHP-1 leads to altered selection of TCR transgenic thymocytes demonstrates that SHP-1 regulates the strength of TCR-mediated signals in vivo and, in turn, helps to set the threshold for thymocyte selection.
Carter
J D
JD
Department of Microbiology, University of Virginia, HSC, 1300 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
Neel
B G
BG
Lorenz
U
U
D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000502:physiology; D002460:Cell Line; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D054592:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11; D053824:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 6; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000502:physiology*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D010047:Ovalbumin; D054592:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11; D053824:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 6; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases; C516725:Ptpn11 protein, mouse; C509248:Ptpn6 protein, mouse