Anti-third party CD8+ CTLs as potent veto cells: coexpression of CD8 and FasL is a prerequisite.

Several bone marrow cells and lymphocyte subpopulations, known as "veto cells," were shown to induce transplantation tolerance across major histocompatibility antigens. Recently, it has been suggested that anti-third party CTLs depleted of alloreactivity are endowed with marked veto activity and therefore might potentially facilitate bone marrow allografting without graft versus host disease (GVHD). The veto mechanism is still obscure. While early studies emphasized the role of CD8-mediated apoptosis, more recent evidence indicates a role for Fas-FasL. In the present study we show, by using blocking anti-CD8 antibody, by generating CTLs from FasL or perforin mutated mice, and by gene transfer of FasL, that the veto activity of anti-third party CD8+ CTLs is dependent upon the simultaneous expression of both CD8 and FasL.