Activation-induced expression of thymic shared antigen-1 on T lymphocytes and its inhibitory role for TCR-mediated IL-2 production.

We have produced a hamster mAb, PRST1, which reacts with thymic shared Ag-1 (TSA-1), a product of the Ly6 gene family. By cross-blocking experiments, we found that TSA-1 is identical to stem cell Ag-2 (Sca-2). Using PRST1, the changes of TSA-1/Sca-2 expression on mature T cells during the activation process were analyzed. Although freshly isolated T cells did not express detectable TSA-1 on their cell surface, in vitro stimulation of T cells with concanavalin A induced a marked increase of surface TSA-1 expression. The increased expression of TSA-1 on T cells was detected from 12 h after stimulation and was associated with the increase of TSA-1 mRNA. In vivo injection of mice with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) resulted in the enhanced TSA-1 expression in splenic V beta 8+ T cells. This antigen-specific induction of TSA-1 expression in vivo preceded a detectable increase in numbers of V beta 8- T cells after SEB injection. Functionally, whereas anti-TSA-1 mAb was not mitogenic to T cells, it inhibited anti-CD3-induced IL-2 production by T cell hybridomas. These results indicate that TSA-1/Sca-2 is a unique marker for T cell activation and a signal through this molecule may have a negative feedback role to limit IL-2 production from activated T cells stimulated through the TCR.