Pathogen antigen- and superantigen-reactive synovial fluid T cells in reactive arthritis.

Analysis of pathogen-reactive T cell clones (CD3+4+8-TCR alpha beta +), isolated from the synovial fluid of 2 HLA-B27-positive patients with Yersinia enterocolitica-triggered reactive arthritis, has provided important information about the cellular immune response to this disease-inciting pathogen. This study demonstrates that the proteins secreted by Y. enterocolitica, including a protein with tyrosine phosphatase activity (YopH), are potent immunogens stimulating CD4+ cells within the inflamed joint. The pathogen-reactive T cell clones preferentially utilized a limited set of T cell receptor variable region gene segments. A purified Yersinia superantigen triggered a proliferative response in most of the antigen-reactive T cell clones tested. These results suggest that the activity of this pathogen's superantigen influences the cellular immune response to its antigens.

Modulation of the Grb2-associated protein complex in human CD4+ T cells by receptor activation.

A panel of human CD4+ T cell clones was utilized to dissect and analyze the biochemical consequences of activation of CD3 or CD28. To molecularly characterize receptor-activated proximal signaling events, tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins co-precipitating with a Grb2 fusion protein after receptor activation were analyzed. Ligation of CD28, but not other costimulatory molecules, induced the tyrosine phosphorylation of two previously identified Grb2 binding proteins (pp76 and pp116). A third Grb2 binding protein (pp36) was extensively tyrosine phosphophorylated in response to combined CD3 and CD28 activation, but not in response to ligation of either receptor alone. cAMP and co-ligation of CD45 affected the receptor-activated tyrosine phosphorylation of Grb2-associated proteins. Furthermore, we demonstrated that two signaling molecules, Vav and phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI(3)K), also interacted with the Grb2 protein complex. The activity of PI(3)K was required for T cell activation, because wortmannin, a PI(3)K inhibitor, blocked T cell proliferation and cytokine production induced by ligation of CD3 and CD28. In conclusion, we demonstrate that in activated human T cell clones, the composition of Grb2 protein complex is modulated by costimulatory signals and cAMP, which may be important for the regulation of intracellular signal transduction.

Costimulatory signals can selectively modulate cytokine production by subsets of CD4+ T cells.

Analysis of experimental animal models and human clinical samples has indicated that the selective activation of CD4+ T cell subsets with distinct profiles of cytokine production plays an important role in the pathogenesis of human inflammatory and allergic diseases. The possibility that differential activation of costimulatory pathways is a mechanism for selectively modulating cytokine production by CD4+ T cells was tested. The proliferative response and cytokines secreted by a panel of human CD4+ T cell clones, representative of Th1 or Th2/0 cells, in response to activation of different costimulatory pathways was measured. CD28-mediated costimulatory signals induced proliferation and IFN-gamma secretion by Th1 cells. Although CD28-ligation induced Th2/0 cells to proliferate, it did not trigger IL-4 production. Ligation of LFA-1 and CD45 isoforms also generated costimulatory signals activating cytokine secretion by the different types of T cell clones. Th1 cells secreted the same profile of cytokines, irrespective of which costimulatory pathway was engaged. However, the cytokine secreted by a subset of Th2/0 cells varied, depending upon which costimulatory pathways were activated. These results suggest that the costimulatory pathways activated by APCs can selectively influence cytokine production by CD4+ T cell subsets.

Preferential usage of T cell antigen receptor V region gene segment V beta 5.1 by Borrelia burgdorferi antigen-reactive T cell clones isolated from a patient with Lyme disease.

Forty-three CD3+4+8- TCR alpha beta+ Borrelia burgdorferi-reactive T cell clones isolated from the peripheral blood of a single patient with clinically active chronic Lyme arthritis were characterized. The spirochetal Ag recognized by 16 of these T cell clones was determined by reactivity with a panel of recombinant spirochetal Ag, which included the OspA, OspB, flagellin, Hsp60 and Hsp70 proteins. All three T cell clones reactive with heat shock proteins recognized a non-cross-reactive epitope unique to the spirochetal Ag. Analysis of the TCR V regions revealed preferential usage of V beta 5.1; 5 of 15 T cell clones that recognized an unidentified spirochetal Ag utilized this V beta gene segment. Most of the T cell clones recognized a given spirochetal Ag exclusively within the context of one HLA class II allele. However, two T cell clones, which recognized an unidentified Ag in the spirochetal lysate within the context of different HLA class II alleles, were both TCR V beta 5.1+, although each displayed a distinct alpha-chain. Moreover, in vitro incubation of this patient's PBMC with B. burgdorferi Ag resulted in a specific increase in the percentage of T cells expressing TCR V beta 5.1. These results indicate that B. burgdorferi has a V beta-selective factor influencing the cellular immune response in a patient with clinically active Lyme disease.