CD4+ T cells that evade deletion by a self peptide display Th1-biased differentiation.

We have examined factors governing the differentiation of autoreactive CD4+ T cells that have evaded deletion by a self peptide. Two lineages of transgenic mice (HA12 and HA104) expressing the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) were mated with TS1 mice that express a clonotypic T cell receptor (TCR) specific for the I-Ed-restricted determinant site 1 (S1) of HA. Thymocytes expressing high levels of the clonotypic TCR were deleted in both TS1xHA transgenic lineages. However, through allelic inclusion, thymocytes expressing low levels of the clonotypic TCR and high levels of endogenous TCR alpha-chains evaded deletion in TS1xHA12 and TS1xHA104 mice to graded degrees. When stimulated with S1 peptide in vitro, the non-autoreactive TS1 T cells were biased toward differentiation into Th2 effectors. By contrast, CD4+ T cells that evaded deletion in TS1xHA12 and TS1xHA104 mice were progressively biased toward Th1-like differentiation. Moreover, the effector cells from TS1xHA12 and TS1xHA104 mice secreted higher levels of IFN-gamma , on a per cell basis, than were secreted by their non-autoreactive counterparts. Thus, CD4+ T cells that evade deletion by a self peptide can exhibit an intrinsic bias toward differentiation into Th1 effector cells.