Human T cell-dependent B cell differentiation induced by staphylococcal superantigens.

Microbial superantigens (SAgs), by virtue of their binding to TCR V beta elements on T cells and to class II MHC molecules on accessory cells (AC), trigger T cell activation. Although anti-CD3 mAb (which also trigger T cell activation via surface CD3/TCR) can readily induce T cell-dependent B cell differentiation in unmanipulated PBMC cultures, induction of Ig production in SAg-stimulated cultures has usually required special manipulation of the T cells, such as irradiating them or treating them with mitomycin C. We now demonstrate that eight different staphylococcal SAgs, typically at concentrations 10- to 100-fold lower than those required for proliferation, can each trigger unmanipulated peripheral blood and tonsil T cells to drive polyclonal B cell differentiation. Such SAg-induced T cell-dependent generation of Ig-secreting cells (IgSC) requires T cells and B cells only and occurs in the absence of monocytes as long as there are adequate numbers of B cells to serve as (DR+) AC. Physical contact among T cells, responder B cells, and AC (when different from the responder B cells) is required. The fusion protein CTLA4Ig inhibits SAg-induced IgSC generation in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas a control fusion protein has no such effect. In contrast, CTLA4Ig has, at best, only modest effects on SAg-induced T cell proliferation, indicating that CD28 (CTLA4)/B7 (B7-like) interactions play a more prominent role in SAg-induced IgSC generation than in SAg-induced T cell proliferation. These results establish SAg-induced T cell-dependent B cell differentiation as a useful model for T cell/B cell interactions, inasmuch as no other cell types are necessary for successful B cell differentiation; these results also demonstrate the importance of CD28 (CTLA4)/B7 (B7-like)-dependent mechanisms in this process.