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Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Walther Oncology Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202; and Walther Cancer Institute, Indianapolis, IN 46208
| Abstract |
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T cells in p27Kip1-deficient
mice compared with wild-type mice. The increase in Th2 differentiation
is correlated to an increase of IL-4 secretion by
CD4+DX5+TCR
+CD62Llow
T cells but not to increased expansion of differentiating Th2 cells.
While STAT4- and STAT6-deficient T cells have diminished
proliferative responses to IL-12 and IL-4, respectively, proliferative
responses are increased in T cells doubly deficient in
p27Kip1 and STAT4 or STAT6. In contrast, the increased
proliferation and differentiative capacity of
p27Kip1-deficient T cells has no effect on the ability of
STAT4/p27Kip1- or STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient
CD4+ cells to differentiate into Th1 or Th2 cells,
respectively. Thus, while p27Kip1 regulates the expansion
and homeostasis of several T cell subsets, it does not affect the
differentiation of Th subsets. | Introduction |
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The regulation of p27Kip1 levels within the cell occurs primarily posttranslation. It is still not entirely clear which cytokine-activated signaling pathways are responsible for regulation of p27Kip1. Studies have demonstrated that mammalian target of rapamycin- and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent pathways are important in reducing p27Kip1 levels in response to IL-2 (10). High p27Kip1 levels were correlated with the decreased proliferative response to IL-4 and IL-12 in STAT6- and STAT4-deficient T cells, respectively (11). Furthermore, an IRS-2-dependent pathway has recently been shown to be important for IL-4-stimulated reductions in p27Kip1 levels (12). Mice doubly deficient in STAT6 and p27Kip1 recover IL-4-stimulated proliferative responses (8), supporting the concept that STAT proteins may also be involved in regulation of p27Kip1 levels.
To further examine the role of p27Kip1 in
cytokine-stimulated expansion and STAT-regulated proliferation, we have
examined proliferative and differentiative responses in mice that are
doubly deficient in p27Kip1 and either STAT4 or STAT6.
STAT4/p27Kip1-deficient and
STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient T cells recover, at least in part,
IL-12- and IL-4-stimulated proliferation. In contrast,
p27Kip1 deficiency has no effect on the ability of STAT4-
or STAT6-deficient T cells to differentiate into Th1 or Th2 cells,
highlighting the specificity of the role of p27Kip1 for
proliferative responses. We also observed that there is an increase of
IL-4-secreting p27Kip1-deficient T cells. This did not
correlate with increased percentages of 
T cells but did appear
to be a product of CD4+DX5+
cells, which have a phenotype similar to NKT cells. Thus, this report
defines a role for p27Kip1 in STAT4- and STAT6-dependent
proliferative responses and in the homeostatic expansion of additional
T cell subsets.
| Materials and Methods |
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Generation of STAT6-deficient mice has been previously described (13). STAT6-deficient mice in this study were backcrossed 10 generations to the BALB/c genetic background. Generation of STAT4-deficient mice has been previously described, and mice in this study were backcrossed eight generations to the C57BL/6 genetic background (14). Mice deficient in p27Kip1 were backcrossed six generations to the C57BL/6 background and were provided by Dr. J. Roberts (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA). STAT6/p27Kip1 double deficient mice and STAT4/p27Kip1 double deficient mice were generated by mating of F1 mice heterozygous for both alleles.
Activation of cells and proliferation assay
Spleen cells or purified T cell populations were activated with
3 µg/ml plate-bound anti-CD3 (145-2C11) for 4872 h as indicated
in RPMI (15) at 2 x 106
cells/ml. Supernatants were recovered for ELISA analysis at the time
points indicated. CD4+ cells were positively
selected using MiniMacs (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA) or sorted by flow
cytometry as indicated.
CD4+CD62L+,
CD4+DX5+,
CD8+, and TCR
+ cells
were sorted by flow cytometry. Activated T cells were purified over
Histopaque (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) and used for subsequent
analysis. For proliferation assays, anti-CD3-activated spleen cells
were plated at 105 cells per microtiter well and
incubated with the indicated concentrations of IL-12 or IL-4
(PeproTech, Rocky Hill, NJ). Wells were pulsed with 1 µCi
[3H]thymidine for the last 18 h of a 48-h
incubation for cytokine stimulation, harvested, and counted in
scintillation fluid. Cell numbers recovered after activation of
wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient mice are comparable and
there are no significant differences in the levels of apoptosis in
these two populations.
CFSE analysis
Following activation as described above, cells were labeled as described (16). Briefly, cells were washed in PBS and incubated for 10 min at room temperature with 10 µM CFSE with cells at a concentration of 107/ml. An equal volume of FCS was added and cells were washed several times. Cells were then washed and fixed immediately for FACS analysis or placed in culture at 5 x 105 cells/ml with 20 U/ml IL-2 (Roche, Indianapolis, IN) or 10 ng/ml IL-4. At each time point cells were removed from culture and fixed for FACS analysis.
Th cell culture
Th cell differentiation assays were performed as described
(15). Briefly, MiniMacs-purified
CD4+ T cells (5 x 105
cells/ml) were activated with 3 µg/ml plate-bound anti-CD3 plus 1
µg/ml anti-CD28 (BD PharMingen, San Diego, CA). Cells were
stimulated with no additional culture reagents (for unskewed
conditions), with 10 ng/ml IL-4 plus 10 µg/ml anti-IFN-
(R4-6A2) for Th2 conditions, or with 2 ng/ml IL-12 plus 10 µg/ml
anti-IL-4 (11B11) for Th1 conditions. After 6 days in culture,
cells were purified over Histopaque and restimulated with plate-bound
anti-CD3 for 24 h. Supernatants were then harvested for ELISA
analysis. Cultures were restimulated for only 6 h, with the last
4 h in the presence of 2 µM monensin, for intracellular cytokine
analysis. Cell recovery from wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient mice following differentiation were
comparable.
Cytokine ELISAs
ELISA was used to detect levels of secreted IL-4, IL-5, and
IFN-
. All Abs used in ELISA were purchased from BD PharMingen, with
the exception of 11B11, used as the capture Ab in the IL-4 ELISA.
Streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (Sigma-Aldrich) and p-nitrophenyl
phosphate (Roche) were used for detection. Analysis was
performed with an ELISA plate reader and software (Bio-Rad,
Hercules, CA).
FACS analysis
Flow cytometric analysis was performed with either a FACScan or
a FACSCalibur (BD Biosciences, Mountain View, CA). All Abs for
staining and sorting were from BD PharMingen. These included Abs to
FITC-labeled anti-CD3 (145-2C11), FITC- or PE-labeled anti-CD4
(RM4-4, RM4-5), PE-labeled anti-CD8 (53-6.7), FITC-labeled
anti-TCR
(H57-597), PE-labeled anti-TCR
(GL3),
PE-labeled anti-CD49 (DX5), and FITC-labeled anti-CD62L
(Mel-14). Intracellular cytokine analysis was performed using
PE-labeled anti-IL-4 in a FACS buffer of PBS plus 2% BSA and 0.1%
saponin, following staining of surface markers.
Complement depletion
Depletion of DX5+ splenocytes or heat-stable Ag (HSA+)3 thymocytes was accomplished by incubating cells with purified DX5 or J11d hybridoma supernatant, respectively, on ice for 30 min, washing, and incubating with rabbit complement (Cedarlane Laboratories, Hornby, Ontario, Canada) for 45 min at 37°C. Cells were then washed, purified over Histopaque, and plated as described above for T cell activation of differentiation.
Statistics
Statistics were performed using the SPSS statistical program (SPSS, Chicago, IL). A t test was used to determine significance.
| Results |
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Because cell cycle progression has been linked to Th cell
differentiation (16, 17, 18) and because we have shown that
p27Kip1-deficient T cells are hyperproliferative to
cytokines (8), we wanted to explore the ability of
p27Kip1-deficient T cells to differentiate into Th subsets.
To examine Th2 differentiation we stimulated wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient CD4+ T cells with
anti-CD3 supplemented with 1 µg/ml anti-CD28, 10 ng/ml IL-4,
and 10 µg/ml anti-IFN-
. After 6 days in culture, cells were
washed and restimulated with anti-CD3 alone. Supernatants were
harvested after 24 h and tested for IL-4 levels by ELISA. Th2
cells generated from p27Kip1-deficient mice secreted
increased levels of IL-4 compared with wild-type cells (Fig. 1
A). We also determined that
p27Kip1-deficient Th2 cultures secreted higher levels of
IL-5 and IL-10, as well as IL-4, compared with wild-type cultures (Fig. 1
A and data not shown), suggesting that there is an increase
in Th2 populations secreting several Th2 cytokines. Because
p27Kip1 regulates cell division, it was possible that cells
committed to cytokine secretion during the differentiation process had
expanded in culture. To test this we analyzed the Th2 cultures by
intracellular cytokine staining. Fig. 1
B demonstrates that
there is a higher percentage of cytokine-secreting cells in
p27Kip1-deficient Th2 cultures than in wild-type cultures,
although on a per cell basis the cells are not making more IL-4. It was
still possible that higher IL-4 was a result of more cells committed to
Th2 differentiation in p27Kip1-deficient Th2 cultures
rather than greater expansion of cells initially committed to the Th2
phenotype. To distinguish between these possibilities, we labeled
CD4+ T cells from wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient mice with CFSE and differentiated them to
Th2 cells as above. After 6 days in culture, cells were restimulated
with anti-CD3 and stained for intracellular cytokine analysis of
IL-4. We then examined the CFSE profile of IL-4+
cells. Fig. 1
C shows that, although there are clearly more
IL-4-secreting cells in p27Kip1-deficient cultures than in
wild-type cultures, the CFSE profiles of these cells are almost
identical. Furthermore, p27Kip1-deficient cells do not
acquire the IL-4-secreting phenotype after any fewer divisions than
wild-type cells (data not shown). These data suggest that the higher
Th2 cytokine secretion in p27Kip1-deficient mice is not due
to increased proliferation of differentiating cells but rather is due
to an increase in the number of cells stimulated to undergo Th2
differentiation.
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One possible explanation for the increase in Th2 cells in
p27Kip1-deficient cultures is an increase in endogenous
IL-4 secreted following anti-CD3 stimulation of primary cultures
that may stimulate increased differentiation of uncommitted T cells to
the Th2 phenotype. Analysis of supernatants from
p27Kip1-deficient spleen cells stimulated with anti-CD3
for 48 or 72 h demonstrated secretion of similar levels of IL-2
and IFN-
(data not shown), but greatly increased levels of IL-4,
compared with wild-type cultures (Fig. 2
A). It is known that both
CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are
expanded in spleens from p27Kip1-deficient mice (5, 6). To determine the source of IL-4 production, we sorted by
flow cytometry the CD4+ and
CD8+ T cell populations. IL-4 production was
enriched in the CD4+ population and
p27Kip1-deficient CD4+ cells secreted
higher amounts of IL-4 than wild-type CD4+ cells
(Fig. 2
A). CD8+ cells secreted minimal
amounts of IL-4 in this assay.
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Increased 
T cells in p27Kip1-deficient mice do
not secrete significant amounts of IL-4
We next wanted to determine whether the IL-4-producing T cells in
p27kip1-deficient mice have an 
or

TCR, because 
T cells are also known to be a source of
IL-4 in vivo (19). Fig. 3
A demonstrates that the

T cell population is expanded in p27Kip1-deficient
mice about 2-fold above levels seen in wild-type mice. However, when
wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient spleen cells were
stimulated with anti-TCR
or anti-TCR
, only stimulation
of the TCR
-positive cells yielded IL-4 production comparable with
anti-CD3 stimulation (Fig. 3
B). To confirm the lack of
involvement of 
T cells in this phenotype, we sorted 
T
cells by flow cytometry and stimulated them with anti-CD3. Both
wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient 
T cells produced low
and similar levels of IL-4 (Fig. 3
C). Thus, while numbers of

T cells are increased in p27Kip1-deficient mice,
they are not responsible for the increased levels of IL-4 following
anti-CD3 stimulation.
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We next wanted to examine the NKT cell populations in wild-type
and p27Kip1-deficient spleen. Unfortunately, the
p27Kip1 gene is located amid the NK complex located on
mouse chromosome 6. So while the p27Kip1-deficient mice
have been backcrossed six generations to the C57BL/6 genetic
background, the NK1 gene is of 129 origin because it lies adjacent to
the p27Kip1 gene targeted in 129 stem cells. Thus, despite
the C57BL/6 genetic background, p27Kip1-deficient mice
remain NK1.1 negative. This necessitated the use of the DX5 mAb, which
recognizes CD49b (20), as a marker for the NKT population.
Wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient spleen had similar levels
of DX5+TCR
+ cells
present (Fig. 4
A). To
determine the DX5 status of IL-4-secreting cells, wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient CD4+ cells were
sorted into DX5- and DX5+
populations by flow cytometry. These cells were then stimulated with
anti-CD3 and supernatants were analyzed for IL-4 levels. The
majority of IL-4 produced by p27Kip1-deficient cells is
secreted by the CD4+DX5+
population (Fig. 4
B). To confirm that this population was
indeed responsible for the IL-4 production in total spleen, spleen
cells from wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient mice were
depleted using DX5 and complement before stimulation with anti-CD3.
This treatment decreased dramatically the amount of IL-4 secreted by
p27Kip1-deficient cells and minimized the differences
between the wild-type and p27Kip1-deficient spleen cells
(Fig. 4
C). To directly demonstrate that
DX5+ cells were responsible for the differences
in Th2 differentiation between wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient T cells, CD4+ T
cells purified from spleen of both genotypes of mice were
differentiated in culture with or without DX5 depletion. Fig. 4
D demonstrates that DX5 depletion of
CD4+ T cells before culture minimizes the
differences in IL-4 and IL-5 production between wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient Th2 cultures. Interestingly, depletion of
DX5+ cells from the wild-type population actually
increased IL-4 production, suggesting that a DX5+
population may also be negatively regulating Th2 differentiation.
Importantly, however, the levels of IL-4 production from wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient cultures are not significantly different
following DX5 depletion.
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Increased IL-4-secreting cells in p27Kip1-deficient thymus
NKT cells also reside in the thymus and are responsible for a
large portion of the IL-4 secreted by HSA-/low
thymocytes (21). To determine whether thymic NKT cells are
also secreting more IL-4, we isolated thymocytes from wild-type and
p27Kip1-deficient mice and complement-depleted
HSA+ cells. Remaining cells were stimulated with
anti-CD3 and IL-4 levels were determined by ELISA. Fig. 4
E shows that greatly increased levels of IL-4 were secreted
by p27Kip1-deficient HSA-/low
thymocytes compared with wild-type controls.
Enhanced proliferation but not differentiation of T cells doubly deficient in STAT4 or STAT6 and p27Kip1
We have previously correlated a defect in p27Kip1
regulation with the inability of STAT4- and STAT6-deficient lymphocytes
to proliferate in response to IL-12 and IL-4, respectively
(11). We have also determined that
p27Kip1-deficient T cells are hyperproliferative to
cytokine stimulus (8). Moreover, T cells from mice that
are doubly deficient in p27Kip1 and STAT6 significantly
recover proliferative responses to IL-4, though not completely
(8). To further characterize the proliferative responses
in wild-type, STAT6-deficient, and STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient
T cells, CD4+ cells from these mice were
activated with anti-CD3 for 72 h. Cells were then labeled with
CFSE, a dye that allows enumeration of cell division. Importantly,
because the cells labeled are preactivated, the CFSE patterns differ
from the patterns of division seen in anti-CD3- or Ag-stimulated
resting cells. However, division in the population is still reflected
as lower CFSE staining (22). Fig. 5
A, left panels,
demonstrates that T cells from mice of all three genotypes have similar
responses to IL-2 at 24, 48, and 72 h following IL-2 stimulation.
In contrast, proliferative responses to IL-4 are altered in T cells
lacking STAT6 expression. As shown in previous work, the proliferative
response of STAT6-deficient cells is diminished compared with wild-type
cells. This is reflected in Fig. 5
A as higher CFSE staining
of the STAT6-deficient cells, indicating that the population has gone
through fewer divisions than similarly treated wild-type cells. It also
demonstrates that STAT6-deficient T cells respond to IL-4 as a single
population and there is not only a subpopulation of cells dividing. We
previously observed that double deficiency in STAT6 and
p27Kip1 recovers IL-4-stimulated proliferation, compared
with STAT6-deficient cells, but is still slightly less than wild-type,
particularly at lower doses of IL-4 (Fig. 5
B)
(8). This observation is supported by CFSE staining that
demonstrates STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient T cells only obtain an
intermediate level of division (Fig. 5
A, right
panels) compared with wild-type cell proliferation.
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Proliferation of differentiating Th cells has recently been proposed to
be essential for the acquisition of restricted cytokine expression
patterns (16, 17, 18). In addition to their lack of ability to
respond by proliferation to IL-4 stimulation, STAT6-deficient T cells
also have dramatically reduced differentiation of Th2 cells (13, 24, 25, 26). The STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient mice provided a
unique opportunity to assess the relative importance of STAT6-dependent
proliferation vs the requirement for a STAT6 instructive step in Th2
differentiation. To determine whether the increased proliferative
response of double-deficient lymphocytes could increase their ability
to become Th2 cells, we stimulated wild-type, STAT6-,
p27Kip1-, and STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient
CD4+ T cells with anti-CD3 supplemented with
10 ng/ml IL-4 and 10 µg/ml anti-IFN-
. After 6 days in culture,
cells were washed and restimulated with anti-CD3 alone.
Supernatants were harvested after 24 h and tested for IL-4 levels
by ELISA. As previously shown, STAT6-deficient lymphocytes secreted
negligible levels of IL-4 compared with wild-type cells (Fig. 6
A).
p27Kip1-deficient cells were consistently better at
differentiating into Th2 than wild-type cells, as indicated in Fig. 1
.
Importantly, STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient cells did not have any
increased capacity to differentiate into Th2 cells (Fig. 6
A), supporting our conclusion that increased
p27Kip1-deficient Th2 generation is due to increased IL-4
production and not to an intrinsic ability of
p27Kip1-deficient T cells to become Th2 cells. To determine
whether increased IL-12-stimulated proliferation was sufficient to
increase the capacity of STAT4/p27Kip1-deficient T cells to
become Th1 cells, wild-type, STAT4-, p27Kip1-, and
STAT4/p27Kip1-deficient CD4+ T cells
were differentiated to the Th1 phenotype by culture with 1 ng/ml IL-12
and 10 µg/ml anti-IL-4. Following restimulation with
anti-CD3, supernatants were collected for ELISA analysis. Wild-type
and p27Kip1-deficient cultures secreted high levels of
IFN-
that were indistinguishable over repeated assays. However, the
reduced Th1 differentiation in STAT4-deficient cultures was not
corrected by the additional deficiency in p27Kip1 (Fig. 6
B). Thus, while elimination of p27Kip1 is
sufficient to increase STAT4- and STAT6-mediated proliferation, the
subsequent increase in proliferation is not sufficient to alter the
differentiative capacity of STAT4- and STAT6-deficient T cells.
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| Discussion |
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The potential role of proliferation in Th cell differentiation has
received considerable attention since several studies suggested
that cell division was required for the secretion of particular
cytokines (16, 17, 18). A subsequent report demonstrated that
cytokines could be secreted without division, although levels of
secretion were higher following division (27). However,
these reports still did not distinguish whether the expansion of
cytokine-secreting cells was selective or instructive following the
cytokine stimulus. Farrar et al. (28) used retroviral
tagging to demonstrate that IL-4-secreting cells are not selectively
expanded in Th1 or Th2 populations and supported the idea that GATA-3
delivers an instructive signal to generate Th2 cells. Cytokine
secretion at near wild-type levels are initially seen in STAT4- and
STAT6-deficient T cells, although T-bet and GATA-3 expression are not
maintained, respectively, in the STAT-deficient T cells
(29). This also suggests that STAT4 and STAT6 have
instructive roles in sustaining expression of transcription factors
involved in the differentiated phenotype. To further address this
issue, we mated STAT4- and STAT6-deficient mice to
p27Kip1-deficient mice and demonstrated that
cytokine-induced proliferation is, at least in part, recovered in T
cells deficient in STAT4 or STAT6 and p27Kip1. If a simple
selective hypothesis were correct, the generation of Th1 cells in
STAT4/p27Kip1-deficient or Th2 cells in
STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient T cell cultures would be expected
to increase. However, our studies demonstrate that even when
cytokine-driven proliferation (selection) is increased, and protection
from apoptosis should be normal (11, 12, 30, 31),
differentiation is not affected (Fig. 6
). Indeed, using CFSE analysis,
STAT6/p27Kip1-deficient T cells cultured under Th2
conditions go through as many cell divisions as wild-type cells yet
still acquire a Th1 cytokine-secreting phenotype (data not shown).
Thus, while cell division may be required for successful Th
differentiation, it is not sufficient in the absence of STAT-regulated
differentiation programs.
STAT proteins may control growth and proliferation at several levels through distinct mechanisms. For example, STAT3 is important for protection from apoptosis in lymphocytes (32, 33). STAT3 may also regulate cell cycle transition in lymphoid cells (34). In nonlymphoid cells, STAT3 is a cofactor for transformation of cells by Src and can function as an oncogene by itself (35, 36, 37). STAT5a-deficient cells display impaired proliferative responses to IL-2 and GM-CSF (38, 39). The proliferative response of STAT5a-deficient T cells to IL-2 can be overcome by high doses of IL-2 to compensate for the low level of CD25 expression (39). The phenotype in STAT5b-deficient mice was more profound in that T cells had reduced expression of both CD25 and CD122 and proliferation to IL-2 could not be recovered with high doses of IL-2 (40). STAT5a/STAT5b double deficient T cells are completely refractory to anti-CD3 stimulation (41). This correlated with a lack of anti-CD3-induced expression of cyclin D2, cyclin D3, and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (41). Importantly, resting T cell stimulation is strictly dependent on STAT5 because STAT6 activation cannot compensate for the lack of STAT5 signals. In contrast, the cytokine-stimulated proliferative defects in STAT4- and STAT6-deficient T cells are restricted to the cognate activating cytokines, IL-12 and IL-4, respectively (13, 14, 23, 24, 25). This phenotype correlated with a dysregulation of p27Kip1 levels following cytokine stimulation (11). Furthermore, mice deficient in p27Kip1 and either STAT4 or STAT6 recover proliferative responses to the requisite cytokines (Ref. 8 and this report). The result that p27Kip1 deficiency does not completely recover STAT4- or STAT6-dependent proliferation only highlights the multiple targets of STAT proteins in these processes. Other potentially important targets include the receptors for IL-4 and IL-12, which we have shown are regulated by STAT6 and STAT4, respectively (13, 42). Additional targets are also currently being pursued.
An increase in thymocytes and splenic T cells in
p27Kip1-deficient mice has been previously described
(5, 6, 7). Thymus size is increased, although the proportions
of subsets therein appear normal. Splenic T cell percentages (both
CD4+ and CD8+) are also
increased in p27Kip1-deficient mice. In our previous
report, we observed that CD4+ memory
(CD62L-/low) cells are expanded in
p27Kip1-deficient spleens (8). In this report,
we further observe an increase in 
T cells similar to increases
in CD4+ and CD8+ cells
(Fig. 3
). We also note that, functionally, there is an increase in
IL-4-secreting cells in the spleen and these cells have a
CD4+TCR
+CD62L-/lowDX5+
phenotype (
Figs. 24![]()
![]()
). However, we did not see an increase in the
percentage of
TCR
+DX5+ or
CD4+DX5+ T cells (Fig. 4
and data not shown). It is possible and likely that IL-4-secreting
cells comprise only a small proportion of the
CD4+DX5+ cells and that the
expansion cannot be detected using only these surface markers. Overall,
p27Kip1 appears to play a critical role in regulating the
expansion and homeostasis of various T cell subsets.
The exact identity of the IL-4-secreting population is unclear. These cells have many of the characteristics of NKT cells that, it is becoming clear, are a very heterogeneous population of cells. Classical NKT cells express both NK1.1 and TCRs, recognize glycolipids in the context of CD1 (43, 44), and are dependent on CD1 for their development (21, 45, 46, 47). Some studies suggest that non-CD1-restricted T cells can express NK1 or CD49b and thus still might be classified, in a general sense, as NKT cells (48, 49). Importantly, a subset of CD4+DX5+ (and NK1.1-) cells has recently been identified as regulatory cells in a model of diabetes (50). In the future, p27Kip1-deficient mice may be a useful system to examine these functionally expanded cells.
In summary, we have demonstrated that p27Kip1 deficiency
can partially compensate for STAT4- and STAT6-dependent proliferative
defects in response to IL-12 and IL-4, respectively. Despite this,
double deficient T cells do not have any increased capacity to respond
to these cytokines and differentiate into Th1 and Th2 cells,
respectively. Mice deficient in p27Kip1 have increased
populations of 
T cells and
CD4+DX5+ T cells that
secrete high levels of IL-4. Thus, p27Kip1 is an important
regulator of T cell expansion but is not a regulator of the Th cell
differentiative process.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
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2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Mark H. Kaplan, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Walther Oncology Center, 1044 West Walnut Street, Room 302, Indianapolis, IN 46202. E-mail address: mkaplan2{at}iupui.edu ![]()
3 Abbreviation used in this paper: HSA, heat-stable Ag. ![]()
Received for publication January 9, 2002. Accepted for publication May 6, 2002.
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