T cell receptor-associated alpha-phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase becomes activated by T cell receptor cross-linking and requires pp56lck.

The activation of a phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase is one of the earliest intracellular responses to T lymphocyte stimulation. We have used a human T cell line, Jurkat, and an antibody that recognizes the clonotype of its T cell receptor (TcR) to characterize the association of PI 3-kinase with the TcR and its activation in response to TcR cross-linking. We show that the TcR is constitutively associated with the alpha isoform of the PI 3-kinase p85 regulatory subunit. Stimulation of Jurkat cells through the TcR results in the rapid and transient activation of the associated PI 3-kinase. In addition, our results indicate that the tyrosine kinase pp56lck is essential for PI 3-kinase activation via the TcR.