Modulation of cytolytic T lymphocyte functions by an inhibitor of serine/threonine phosphatase, okadaic acid. Enhancement of cytolytic T lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity.

A specific and potent inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, okadaic acid (OA), and its inactive analog, tetramethyl ether (OA-TME), were tested in the cytotoxicity and granule exocytosis assays of CTL activation. At low concentrations OA enhanced, whereas at higher concentrations OA inhibited, CTL responses. The Ag-specific and retargeted cytotoxicity, granule exocytosis induced by target cell (TC), anti-TCR mAb, or PMA and A23187, and conjugate formation with TC were inhibited by pretreatment of CTL with OA as expected if protein phosphatases and protein dephosphorylation were indeed involved in the TCR-mediated signal transduction and effector responses of CTL. Cytotoxicity and granule exocytosis were unaffected by pretreatment of CTL with OA-TME. The inhibitory effect of OA on the exocytic response of CTL induced by TC and anti-TCR mAb can be dissociated from the inhibition of the response to PMA and A23187, suggesting the involvement of a serine and/or threonine protein phosphatase in the early events of transmembrane signaling. At lower concentrations, OA, but not OA-TME, was able to enhance the Ag-specific cytotoxicity and TC-induced exocytosis from CTL clones. The enhancement of these TCR-mediated responses of CTL was observed only if the activation was induced by the Ag on the TC surface, because OA did not enhance either the anti-TCR mAb-induced exocytosis of granules from the CTL clone or lysis of the Ag-nonbearing TC by CTL in a retargeting assay. The biphasic character of the effects of OA on CTL-TC interactions suggests the existence of at least two functionally distinct phosphatases in CTL. The ability of OA to enhance the Ag-specific response is unique and indicates the presence of an inhibitory phosphoprotein phosphatase that should be considered as a participant in the down-regulation of the cell-cell interactions between CTL and TC. The inhibitory effects of OA on both TC-induced and anti-TCR mAb-triggered CTL responses at higher concentrations point to the importance of yet another phosphatase in the CTL-TC interactions and in the TCR-mediated transmembrane signaling. The use of OA may help to decipher the details of biochemical changes involved in T lymphocyte effector functions.