title: Self-recognition and the regulation of CD4+ T cell survival.
abstract: CD4+ T cells differentiate in the thymus from committed precursors to mature naive cells ready for peripheral circulation. Successful maturation depends on adequate but not excessive signaling upon T cell receptor (TCR) engagement of self-peptide/MHC class II molecule ligands present in the thymic environment. Persistent TCR signaling throughout development from the CD4+CD8+ to the CD4+ state is required for completion of the developmental process. Recent work has suggested that a continuation of this signaling is essential for sustained survival of CD4+ T cells once they leave the thymus but our studies suggest otherwise. Although we found clear evidence for active TCR signaling involving recognition of self-ligands in peripheral lymphoid tissues, we did not see a substantial effect of loss of such signaling on the life-time of naive CD4+ T cells. Based on a careful review of the literature, we conclude that essentially all previous claims that MHC class II recognition plays a significant role in the survival of CD4+ T cells can be reinterpreted as an effect of self-recognition on proliferation in lymphopenic environments, maintaining population numbers without a marked effect on individual cell viability. We propose a possible explanation for why, in contrast, the viability of naive CD8+ T cells appears to show such self-MHC dependence and suggest that a primary function of self-recognition by T cells may be to enhance responses to foreign antigen.
authors.affiliation: Lymphocyte Biology Section, Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1892, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Germain
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stefanova
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dorfman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*