An anergic, islet-infiltrating T-cell clone that suppresses murine diabetes secretes a factor that blocks interleukin 2/interleukin 4-dependent proliferation.

The mechanism of peripheral immunological tolerance has not been fully established. While anergic T cells have been noted in tolerant hosts, the mechanism by which they contribute to the induction and maintenance of tolerance has not been defined. As we previously reported, an accelerated form of diabetogenic autoimmunity in nonobese diabetic mice can be blocked by passive transfer of a CD3+, CD8+, beta-chain variable region 11-positive islet-infiltrating T-cell clone (IS-2.15). In this report we examine the properties of this T-cell clone. We have established that this clone is unresponsive to mitogenic concentrations of anti-T-cell receptor or anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies and is only weakly responsive to syngeneic islet and spleen cells. Moreover, these T cells secrete an inhibitory factor(s) that irreversibly inhibits interleukin (IL) 2/IL-4-driven proliferation of IL-2/IL-4 indicator T-cell lines. This noncytotoxic factor, which possesses an apparent size of 10-30 kDa, does not interfere with low-affinity IL-2 receptor expression. These data indicate that at least some anergic T cells can play an active role in peripheral tolerance by secreting suppressor factor(s) that regulate IL-2/IL-4-dependent proliferation.