Sustained activation of the raf-MEK-ERK pathway elicits cytokine unresponsiveness in T cells.

Activation of T cells via the TCR and other costimulatory receptors triggers a number of signaling cascades. Among them, the Ras-activated Raf-mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) kinase (MEK)-ERK signaling cascade has been demonstrated to be crucial for both T cell development and activation. It has previously been demonstrated that high doses of Ag or anti-CD3 mAb are able to induce in T cells a nonresponsive state to subsequent treatment with cytokines such as IL-2. The precise biochemical mechanisms underlying this effect are not fully characterized. In this study, we demonstrate that cytokine nonresponsiveness is accompanied by the induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21Cip1 that is mediated, at least in part, by the activation of the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that selective activation of the Raf-MEK-ERK signaling pathway in T cells is sufficient to induce cytokine nonresponsiveness in both a T cell clone and naive primary T cells. In this case, nonresponsiveness is accompanied by the induction of p21Cip1 and the prevention of p27Kip1 down-regulation, leading to inhibition of cyclin E/cyclin-dependent kinase 2 activity. These data suggest that anti-CD3 mAb-induced cytokine nonresponsiveness may be a consequence of hyperactivation of the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway, leading to alterations in the expression of key cell cycle regulators. These observations may provide a novel insight into the mechanisms of induction of peripheral tolerance.