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Cutting Edge |


* Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 536, Institut Claude de Préval, Toulouse, France; and
Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| Abstract |
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clustering at the
immunological synapse, and IFN-
production also were inhibited.
However, early TCR signaling and T cell polarization toward APCs
were unaffected. Our results indicate that the "raison
dêtre" of a large-scale segregation of surface molecules and
intracellular enzymes and adapters, in Ag-stimulated T cells, is to
reinforce the assembly of the signal transduction cascade rather than
favor TCR engagement and triggering. | Introduction |
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Recent studies have provided evidence for the existence of a specialized signaling domain at the T cell-APC contact site. This domain named supramolecular activation cluster or immunological synapse (IS),3 is characterized by large-scale molecular segregation of TCRs, accessory molecules,and intracellular signaling components (1, 2, 3).
Molecular segregation is commonly considered to be more a consequence of productive TCR engagement than a prerequisite for TCR-peptide-MHC interaction (4). Indeed, large-scale molecular segregation occurs several minutes after T cell-APC conjugation, a time period that is not compatible with a role of IS in initiating TCR engagement and signaling (2, 3). Conversely, it has been recently shown, in resting T cells interacting with dendritic cells, that IS formation may occur in the absence of antigenic peptide and MHC molecules, suggesting that reorganization of accessory molecules and of signaling components may predispose T cells to Ag recognition (5).
An unresolved question concerns the role of molecular segregation at the T cell-APC contact site in T cell biological response. Although it is well established that the formation of a stable molecular array at the cell-cell contact site correlates with T cell activation (3), the precise function of this reorganization is still elusive (4, 6).
In the present work, we addressed the question of the "raison dêtre" of a large-scale molecular segregation in Ag-stimulated T lymphocytes. The ideal approach to address this question was to manipulate molecular segregation without directly affecting TCR triggering. This was accomplished by stimulating T cells under conditions in which CD2-CD58 interaction was impeded.
It has been proposed that CD2-CD58 interaction may exert a crucial role in molecular segregation at the T cell-APC contact site (1). Due to the relatively small size of CD2 and its ligand CD58, their interaction may promote the formation of areas of tight adhesion between T cells and APCs where TCR engagement may be facilitated and from which large inhibitory molecules such as CD45 may be excluded (1, 7).
CD2 may also play an important role in the supply of intracellular signaling components to the IS. Several transducing enzymes and adapter proteins have been shown to interact with the intracellular portion of CD2 (8). Among these is CD2AP, which contains in its sequence multiple protein-protein interaction domains and has been shown to be fundamental in cross-talk between CD2 and T cell tubulin cytoskeleton (9). We stimulated T cells in the absence of CD2-CD58 interaction. Our results show that CD2 binding is mandatory for large-scale molecular segregation at the T cell-APC contact site and for full T cell activation. Surprisingly, under these conditions, the earliest steps of TCR-mediated signal transduction are unaffected.
| Materials and Methods |
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Two DRB1*0101-restricted T cell clones (6396p5.1.2 and SDMV 3.5) specific for the measles virus fusion protein peptide P5 (F254268) and a DRBI*1104-restricted T cell clone (KS140) specific for the tetanus toxin peptide TT830843 were used. DR1-matched EBV -transformed B cells were used as APCs. T cell clones and EBV-B cell lines were generated and maintained as described previously (10).
IFN-
production, TCR down-regulation, and intracellular
Ca2+ concentration measurement
IFN-
production, TCR down-regulation, and intracellulat
Ca2+ concentration were measured as previously
described (10). In some experiments, T cells were
conjugated at a 1:1 ratio with polystyrene latex microspheres
(Polysciences, Warrington, PA, coated or not with 0.5 µg/ml
anti-CD2 mAbs; BD PharMingen, Mountain View, CA) coated with 500
µg/ml avidin (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) in presence or in absence
of either biotinylated DRB1*0101 P5 or DRB1*0101 TfR
(TfR680696). Human MHC class II-peptide complexes were prepared as
described elsewhere (11).
Intracellular staining
T cells were conjugated with EBV-B cells as previously described (7). In some experiments, EBV-B cells were treated for 30 min before conjugation with 10 µg/ml anti-CD58 mAbs (either Ts1/9, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Rockville, MD, or 1C3, BD PharMingen). Cells were fixed and permeabilized as described previously (7) and stained with anti-phosphotyrosine mAbs (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) and either anti-CD2 (either HB222, ATCC, or RPA-2.10, BD PharMingen) or anti-CD45 mAbs (either 10G10 or 9.4; ATCC), or anti-CD2AP mAbs (9), or anti-tubulin mAbs (Sigma-Aldrich), followed by Cy5-labeled goat anti-mouse Abs (Caltag Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) and FITC-labeled goat anti-mouse Abs (Southern Biotechnology Associates, Birmingham, AL) as described elsewhere (7).
For staining with anti-IFN-
mAbs (BD PharMingen), cells were
permeabilized with saponin as described previously (12).
The samples were mounted and examined using a Carl Zeiss LSM 510
confocal microscope (Zeiss, Jena, Germany). Three-dimensional
reconstruction of the images was performed using the Imaris software
(Bitplane, Zurich Switzerland).
Measurement of intracellular phosphotyrosine by FACS analysis
The phosphotyrosine fluorescence in T cells was analyzed on a FACScan as described elsewhere (12).
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation analysis
T cells were conjugated with EBV-B cells at a 3:1 ratio. Western blot analysis of ERK phosphorylation was performed using anti-phosphorylated-ERK1 and ERK2 mAbs (Sigma-Aldrich); membranes were stripped and reprobed with anti-ERK2 mAbs (Santa Cruz Biotechnology).
| Results and Discussion |
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in the absence of CD2-CD58
interaction
To test the role of CD2 in costimulating T cell activation, we
initially investigated whether the block of CD2-CD58 interaction would
inhibit the activation of T cell biological responses. We measured
IFN-
production in T cells interacting with APCs previously treated
with anti-CD58 Abs. Treatment of APCs with anti-CD58 mAbs
before conjugation with T cells significantly reduced IFN-
production in T cell-APC conjugates (Fig. 1
A).
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production was sharply enhanced by
coimmobilization of anti-CD2 Abs (Fig. 1CD2-CD58 interaction is required for IS organization
We have previously shown that CD2 rapidly accumulates at the T
cell-APC contact site where it colocalizes with phosphotyrosine
staining. TCRs progressively diffuse from the entire T cell surface
into the phosphorylation area, whereas the phosphatase
CD45 is excluded from the signaling domain (7). To test
the role of CD2-CD58 interaction in promoting molecular segregation, we
studied IS structure in T cells interacting with
APCs previously treated with
anti-CD58 mAbs. As shown in Fig. 2
A and Table I
, Ag-induced recruitment of CD2 to the T
cell-APC contact area was completely blocked in the absence of CD2-CD58
interaction. This indicates that CD2 recruitment to the IS requires
both TCR signaling and CD2 engagement with its ligand.
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Finally, as shown in Fig. 2
D and Table I
, in T cells
interacting with anti-CD58-loaded APCs, the exclusion of CD45 from
the TCR signaling area was strongly reduced.
Taken together with data from Shaw and coworkers (9), the above results indicate that signals derived from TCR and CD2 engagement cooperate to deliver CD2AP to the signaling area and to facilitate CD45 exclusion.
These results are in apparent contrast with data using planar lipid bilayers, which suggest that the coincident engagement of LFA-1 by ICAM-1 and of TCR by peptide-MHC is sufficient for molecular segregation (2) in the absence of CD2 engagement.
This discrepancy might be due to the fact that different stimulation systems were used in the two studies. The function of ICAM-1 in the planar bilayers may differ from the more physiological context of an APC due to interaction with cytoskeleton, membrane microdomains, or other membrane molecules. This may facilitate molecular segregation in the absence of CD2 ligand.
TCR triggering does not require CD2 accessory function
Figure 2
depicts an unexpected result concerning phosphotyrosine
staining, which appeared to be similar in conditions in which CD2-CD58
interaction was impeded. This observation suggested that molecular
segregation of CD2 and CD45 is not required for TCR engagement and
early signaling. We therefore tested this possibility by examining TCR
signal transduction in Ag-stimulated T cells. T cells were conjugated
with APCs either treated or not with anti-CD58 Abs. TCR
down-regulation, phosphotyrosine staining, and calcium mobilization
were evaluated by FACS analysis and ERK phosphorylation
was assayed by Western blot analysis. Strikingly, as shown in Fig. 3
, A and C,
Ab-mediated block of CD2-CD58 interaction did not affect
phosphotyrosine staining or ERK phosphorylation.
Accordingly, TCR down-regulation, a process controlled by early protein
tyrosine kinase activation (15), was also unaffected (Fig. 3
B).
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enrichment at the T cell-APC contact site (16). In
unstimulated T cells, PKC
is diffusely distributed throughout the
cytosol (data not shown and Ref. 16). Following
conjugation with the cognate APCs, T cells exhibited a massive
enrichment of PKC
at the signaling area (Fig. 3
translocation to the cell cortex and its recruitment to
the signaling area were markedly reduced (Fig. 3The molecular mechanisms responsible for this inhibition are still not clear. We propose that the block of CD2 signaling and of CD2/CD2AP recruitment may generate a defect in the formation of a molecular scaffold required for rearrangement of membrane molecules and docking of cytosolic components to the signaling area which is required for signal transmission to the calcium/PKC pathways.
These results, along with those shown in Figs. 1
and 2
, indicate that
molecular segregation at the T cell-APC contact site is dispensable for
the TCR triggering. However, segregation contributes to full assembly
of TCR signaling cascade and augments T cell biological response.
T cell polarization toward APC is not affected by inhibition of CD2-CD58 interaction
We next asked whether in the absence of molecular segregation T
cells exhibit a defect in polarization of their secretory machinery. As
shown in Fig. 4
A and Table I
,
inhibition of CD2 binding did not affect the polarization of T cell
tubulin cytoskeleton toward the APCs, as detected by T cell microtubule
organizing center orientation toward the cell-cell contact site
(17). Accordingly, even though in T cells stained with
anti-IFN-
Abs a reduction of staining in the absence of CD2
binding could be appreciated, the percentage of cells exhibiting
polarization of the Golgi system toward the APCs was unaffected (Fig. 4
B and Table I
).
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In conclusion, these results provide new insights to the understanding of the role of large-scale molecular segregation in T cell activation. We propose that T cells form random conjugates with APCs, mediated by the engagement of adhesion molecules. This is followed by an initial examination of the APC surface looking for antigenic peptides. If a few are encountered, productive TCR engagement triggers protein tyrosine kinase and ERK activation, TCR down-regulation, and cytoskeleton polarization. These initial processes combine with the engagement and signaling of different accessory molecules at the cell-cell contact site and together coordinate large-scale molecular reorganization to enable a more careful inspection of the APCs. In this model, large-scale molecular segregation could serve as a quality control function. Molecular segregation concentrates various actors in the membrane and the fine balance of signal mediators pass final judgment on whether to trigger the full response or not. TCR and accessory molecules would therefore cooperate to allow the signal flow to pass through several checkpoints dispersed along the signaling pathways.
This mechanism may have been developed to allow T lymphocytes to adapt their biological responses to the context in which the Ag is presented.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Salvatore Valitutti, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 536, Institut Claude de Préval, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Purpan, 31059 Toulouse Cedex 3, France. E-mail address: svalitu{at}toulouse.inserm.fr ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: IS, immunological synapse; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; PKC, protein kinase C. ![]()
Received for publication January 9, 2002. Accepted for publication March 5, 2002.
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