IL-2 can support growth of CD8+ T cells but not CD4+ T cells of human IL-2 receptor beta-chain transgenic mice.

We have generated transgenic mice expressing the human (h) IL-2R beta-chain on lymphoid cells under the control of the mouse H-2Kd promoter. Spleen cells and thymocytes of the transgenic mice were cultured in the presence of 5 nM hIL-2. After a 10-day culture, the expanded populations were analyzed by flow cytometry and shown to be composed of CD8+ T cells and gamma delta T cells. Surprisingly, CD4+ T cells of the transgenic mice did not proliferate in response to hIL-2, although the CD4+ T cells expressed the transgenic hIL-2R beta-chain as well as the endogenous gamma-chain on their surface and bound 125I-labeled IL-2. When CD4+ T cells of the transgenic mice were stimulated with anti-CD3 mAb, the CD4+ T cells proliferated in response to hIL-2. These findings suggest that CD4+ T cells may require another triggering signal to respond to IL-2 even when IL-2Rs are expressed. By contrast, CD8+ T cells and gamma delta T cells respond to IL-2 as long as IL-2Rs are expressed.