V7, a novel leukocyte surface protein that participates in T cell activation. I. Tissue distribution and functional studies.

Among a panel of mouse mAbs generated to a human T cell clone, one mAb, V7.1, inhibited T cell activation in the mixed lymphocyte reaction and was studied further. V7.1 reacted strongly with Ag-specific T cell clones, in addition to freshly isolated monocytes and granulocytes. However, the mAb reacted weakly with freshly isolated PBLs (T cells, B cells, and NK cells), T cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin, or Con A, and did not stain the vast majority of transformed cell lines of hemopoietic origin. Stimulation of T cells with anti-CD3, or the combination of anti-CD3 and PMA, or anti-CD3, PMA and ionomycin, markedly increased V7.1 surface staining. The mAb precipitated a single polypeptide chain of approximately 135 kDa from alloactivated T cells or monocytes, which was reduced to approximately 110 kDa after treatment with N-glycanase. The proliferative response of T cells to allogeneic monocytes or B lymphoblastoid cells was inhibited by V7.1, and inhibition was maximal when the mAb was present at the initiation of culture. V7.1 also exhibited dose-dependent inhibition of the T cell response to immobilized anti-CD3 Ab in the absence of APCs, indicating that the inhibitory effect of this Ab occurs at the T cell level. Expression of CD25 (IL-2R) on anti-CD3-activated T cells and secretion of IL-2 induced with anti-CD3 and PMA were inhibited by V7.1, whereas the Ab had no effect on T cell proliferation induced by PHA or Con A or on T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. These results indicate that V7.1 recognizes a novel leukocyte surface glycoprotein, designated V7, that is up-regulated on Ag but not lectin-activated T cells, and appears to play a role in TCR/CD3-dependent T cell activation. In an accompanying study, the gene encoding the V7 Ag is described and the molecule is shown to be a novel member of the Ig superfamily.

V7, a novel leukocyte surface protein that participates in T cell activation. II. Molecular cloning and characterization of the V7 gene.

V7 is a cell surface glycoprotein expressed on Ag-activated T cells, monocytes, and granulocytes, as well as subpopulations of T cells and accessory cells present in thymic medulla and tonsil. A mAb directed against V7 inhibits the proliferative response of T cells to allogeneic cells or immobilized anti-CD3 Ab, but not lectin mitogens, suggesting that V7 plays a role in TCR/CD3-mediated T cell activation. We have used the anti-V7 Ab in eukaryotic expression cloning experiments to isolate a cDNA clone containing a 3,340-bp insert that encodes V7 when transiently expressed in simian and murine fibroblastoid cells. DNA sequence analysis revealed a novel 1,021-amino acid open reading frame the structure of which conforms to the category of type I integral membrane proteins. The protein sequence includes a 20-residue putative hydrophobic signal sequence followed by a putative extracellular domain of 934 amino acids, a prototypic hydrophobic transmembrane spanning a domain of 25 residues, and finally a short and highly charged putative cytoplasmic domain of 42 residues. The extracellular domain contains seven pairs of regularly spaced cysteine residues, suggestive of Ig-like domains. On the basis of statistical analysis of the sequences of the putative cysteine loops, all seven of the Ig-like domains belong to the variable, or V-type, category. By using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we have mapped the V7 gene to human chromosome Ip13. Thus, the V7 glycoprotein represents a novel member of the Ig superfamily that is involved in critical intracellular signals essential for immune function.