Sustained NFAT signaling promotes a Th1-like pattern of gene expression in primary murine CD4+ T cells.

T cell activation is known to be critically regulated by the extent and duration of TCR-induced signaling pathways. The NFAT family of transcription factors is believed to play an important role in coupling these quantitative differences in TCR-induced signaling events into changes in gene expression. In this study we have specifically investigated the effects of sustained NFAT signaling on T cell activation by introducing a constitutively active mutant version of NFATc1 (caNFATc1) into primary murine CD4(+) T cells and examining its effects on gene expression. We now report that ectopic expression of caNFATc1 partially mimics TCR signaling, resulting in enhanced expression of CD25 and CD40 ligand and down-regulation of CD62L. More importantly, we find that expression of caNFATc1 in T cells maintained under either nonpolarizing or Th1-skewing conditions leads to a marked selective increase in the number of cells expressing the prototypical Th1 cytokine, IFN-gamma. Furthermore, when expressed in Th2-skewed cells, caNFATc1 appears to attenuate Th2 differentiation by decreasing production of IL-4 and promoting the expression of IFN-gamma. Finally, we find that caNFATc1 enhances expression of functional P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1, up-regulates Fas ligand expression, and increases susceptibility to activation-induced cell death, cellular traits that are preferentially associated with Th1 effector cells. Taken together, these results suggest that sustained NFAT signaling, mediated by ectopic expression of caNFATc1, acts to promote a Th1-like pattern of gene expression and thereby serves to highlight the important relationship between the degree of NFAT signaling and the qualitative pattern of gene expression induced during T cell activation.