Costimulation of CD3/TcR complex with either integrin or nonintegrin ligands protects CD4+ allergen-specific T-cell clones from programmed cell death.

An optimal stimulation of CD4+ cells in an immune response requires not only signals transduced via the TcR/CD3 complex, but also costimulatory signals delivered as a consequence of interactions between T-cell surface-associated costimulatory receptors and their counterparts on antigen-presenting cells (APC). The intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, CD54) efficiently costimulates proliferation of resting, but not antigen-specific, T cells. In contrast, CD28 and CD2 support interleukin (IL)-2 synthesis and proliferation of antigen-specific T cells more efficiently than those of resting T cells. The molecular basis for this differential costimulation of T cells is poorly understood. Cypress-specific T-cell clones (TCC) were generated from four allergic subjects during in vivo seasonal exposure to the allergen. Purified cypress extract was produced directly from fresh collected pollen and incubated with the patients' mononuclear cells. Repeated allergen stimulation was performed in T-cell cultures supplemented with purified extract and autologous APC. The limiting-dilution technique was then adopted to generate allergen-specific TCC, which were also characterized by their cytokine secretion pattern as Th0 (IL-4 plus interferon-gamma) or Th2 (IL-4). Costimulation-induced proliferation or apoptosis was measured by propidium iodide cytofluorometric assay. By cross-linking cypress-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell clones with either anti-CD3 or anti-CD2, anti-CD28, and anti-CD54 monoclonal antibodies, we demonstrated that CD4+ clones (with Th0- or Th2-type cytokine production pattern) undergo programmed cell death only after anti-CD3 stimulation, whereas costimulation with either anti-CD54 or anti-CD28 protects target cells from apoptosis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)