The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 178: 2556-2564.
Copyright © 2007 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
Differential Biological Role of CD3 Chains Revealed by Human Immunodeficiencies1
María J. Recio2,*,
Miguel Angel Moreno-Pelayo2,
,
Sara S. Kiliç2,
,
Alberto C. Guardo*,
Ozden Sanal
,
Luis M. Allende¶,
Verónica Pérez-Flores*,
Angeles Mencía
,
Silvia Modamio-Høybjør
,
Elena Seoane|| and
José R. Regueiro3,*
* Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain;
Unidad de Genética Molecular, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain;
Pediatric Immunology, Uludag University Medical Faculty, Görükle-Bursa, Turkey;
Immunology Division, Hacettepe University Childrens Hospital, Ankara, Turkey;
¶ Inmunología, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain; and
|| Inmunobiología Molecular, Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
 |
Abstract
|
|---|
The biological role in vivo of the homologous CD3
and
invariant chains within the human TCR/CD3 complex is a matter of debate, as murine models do not recapitulate human immunodeficiencies. We have characterized, in a Turkish family, two new patients with complete CD3
deficiency and SCID symptoms and compared them with three CD3
-deficient individuals belonging to two families from Turkey and Spain. All tested patients shared similar immunological features such as a partial TCR/CD3 expression defect, mild 
and 
T lymphocytopenia, poor in vitro proliferative responses to Ags and mitogens at diagnosis, and very low TCR rearrangement excision circles and CD45RA+ 
T cells. However, intrafamilial and interfamilial clinical variability was observed in patients carrying the same CD3G mutations. Two reached the second or third decade in healthy conditions, whereas the other three showed lethal SCID features with enteropathy early in life. In contrast, all reported human complete CD3
(or CD3
) deficiencies are in infants with life-threatening SCID and very severe 
and 
T lymphocytopenia. Thus, the peripheral T lymphocyte pool was comparatively well preserved in human CD3
deficiencies despite poor thymus output or clinical outcome. We propose a CD3
>> CD3
hierarchy for the relative impact of their absence on the signaling for T cell production in humans.
 |
Introduction
|
|---|
Mature 
T cells detect peptides on MHC molecules by way of a variable cell surface heterodimer termed the 
TCR (1). Before reaching the membrane, variable 
TCR heterodimers associate in a preferential sequence with three invariant dimers collectively called CD3 (CD3
, CD3
, and 
) (2). The stoichiometry of the full 
TCR/CD3 complex is most likely 
/




(3). Once on the cell surface, CD3 proteins translate ligand recognition by 
TCR chains into intracellular signals that drive T cell maturation or apoptosis in the thymus, and T cell activation, proliferation, and effector function or anergy/apoptosis in the periphery (4). During early T cell development, some CD3 chains may act alone or assist immature TCR ensembles, such as those containing pre-TCR chains. CD3 chains lack intrinsic enzymatic activity for signal transduction. Rather, they relay on phosphorylation-dependent recruitment and the activation of a number of cytosolic and transmembrane protein tyrosine kinases and adaptors such as Zap-70, Fyn, Lck, TRIM, LAT, SLP76, and SIT (5). The intracellular substrates of each CD3 chain may be different, together with their respective signaling pathways (6).
The complete lack of any of the chains of the invariant dimers causes in humans a group of rare T lymphocyte immunodeficiencies that, in the case of
and
, partially resemble their murine models, i.e., severe selective 
T lymphocytopenia and absent 
TCR/CD3 surface expression, associated with SCID features and early lethality before 3 years of age (for a review, see Ref. 7). In contrast, CD3
deficiency was reported to allow in humans (8), but not in mice (6, 9), the selection of substantial numbers of polyclonal peripheral T cells that express relatively high levels of functional 
TCR/CD3 complexes (10, 11), albeit with an abnormal stoichiometry (
/




) and an impaired association to 
dimers (11, 12). Two healthy, unrelated individuals lacking CD3
have been reported to reach their second and third decade, respectively, but the defect was lethal in a sibling with SCID symptoms (13). It is not clear why complete human CD3
deficiencies are clinically milder and phenotypically leakier for T lymphocyte numbers than in the murine model or complete human CD3
or
deficiencies, and further cases can help to settle the matter.
In this study we have characterized the clinical, immunological, and genetic features of two new patients with complete CD3
deficiency, lethal SCID symptoms, and partial T lymphocytopenia and compare them with three previously reported cases and with other CD3 deficiencies. The results shed light on the relative role of each CD3 chain in TCR/CD3 expression and function in humans.
 |
Materials and Methods
|
|---|
Case reports
A 7-mo-old boy (subject VI:1 of family 1; Fig. 1A), born in May 2004 to distantly consanguineous parents, suffered chronic diarrhea and pulmonary infections, recurrent otitis media, oral moniliasis, severe diaper dermatitis, and perianal fistula. The immunological workup with BD Biosciences reagents showed 2180 lymphocytes/µl with partial T lymphocytopenia: 43% CD19+, 18% CD16+CD56+CD3, 21% CD4+CD8, 18% CD8+CD4, 14% CD25+, low CD3 (27% with SK7) and TCR
(2% with WT31), but not TCR
(7.6% with 11F2, 3.2% also CD8+, 5.6% also CD3+). CD45 and HLA class I expression were both normal as well as IgG, IgM, and IgA (827, 41, and 84 mg/dl, respectively) and IgG14 subclasses (606, 69, 34, and <1.4, age-matched ranges 152951, 18216, 18129, and 0130, respectively). The proliferative responses to PHA and Con A were low compared with the control (6020 vs 43949 and 6504 vs 35760 cpm, respectively). Tested autoantibodies were negative (anti-nuclear Ab, smooth muscle, parietal, thyroglobulin, transglutaminase, and enterocyte). The boy underwent a bone marrow transplant at the age of 13 mo and a retransplant 5 mo later, but he died due to bilateral pneumonia at the age of 20 mo.

View larger version (30K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 1. Pedigrees and haplotype analysis of families 1 (A) and 2 (B) based on the indicated polymorphic markers spanning the CD3GDE region on chromosome 11q23 (inset, shared core haplotype in boldface). Affected status and disease haplotype are depicted in black. The shared mutation is denoted as CD3G:K69X. Homozygous haplotype segregation was observed in patient VI:1 from family 1 and patient IV:4 from family 2. C, Pedigree of a Spanish family (family 3) characterized previously (17 ).
|
|
His older brother (VI:3) showed very similar symptoms (diarrhea since birth, oral moniliasis, and perianal fistula since 3 mo of age) and immunological findings at 56 mo: normal IgG, IgM, and IgA (2010, 229, and 223 mg/dl, respectively); 2473 lymphocytes/µl with partial T lymphocytopenia (26% CD19+, 29% CD16+CD56+CD3, 18% CD4+CD8, 11% CD8+CD4, 2% CD4+CD25+, low CD3 (37% with SK7) and TCR
(1% with WT31), but not TCR
(6.7% with 11F2). CD18 expression and neutrophil chemotaxis were normal. Stool cultures were negative. As the diarrhea did not improve, he was referred to Ankara for bone marrow transplantation but died due to sepsis and diarrhea at 9 mo of age.
Molecular genetics
Genomic DNA was extracted following standard methods from peripheral blood samples of patients and unaffected relatives from families 1 and 2 (Fig. 1). Primers were designed to PCR-amplify all exons and the flanking intronic sequences of CD3G (GenBank accession no. NM_000073), CD3D (GenBank accession no. NM_000732), and CD3E (GenBank accession no. NM_000733) genes (see Table I for CD3G). PCR products were purified with the QIAquick PCR purification kit (Qiagen) followed by direct sequencing using the BigDye Terminator V3.1 cycle sequencing ready reaction kit in the ABI PRISM 3100 automatic sequencer (Applied Biosystems).
Members of family 1 were screened for the CD3G mutation c.205A
T by digesting exon 3 amplimers with the Tru9I restriction enzyme and running the digestion products in 3% agarose gels.
Subjects from both families were genotyped for microsatellite markers spanning the genetic interval that contains the CD3G, CD3D, and CD3E genes on chromosome 11q23 (D11S898, D11S4111, D11S1356, MICD3E, GDB:179879, D11S1364, D11S925, D11S4089, and D11S1336). The novel MICD3E marker is intragenic to CD3E and was developed by searching for tandem repeats of CA dinucleotide in the sequence contig (GenBank accession no. NT_033899; Homo sapiens genome view, build 35.1) and by designing flanking primers (forward: 5'-ATAGCCCCAAACTTTGCTCAC-3'; reverse: 5'-CATTAACTCTTTGTTACCCCAACTC-3'). The order of markers was established by integrating genetic and physical maps (National Center for Biotechnology Information; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) (Table II).
Abs and flow cytometry
The expression of different surface markers was studied by flow cytometry using standard procedures (10). The following mAb were used: anti-CD3
/
(UCHT-1) from Immunotech and anti-CD3 (Leu4), anti-CD3 (SK7), anti-CD4 (Leu2a), anti-CD8 (Leu3a), anti-CD45RA (Leu-18), anti-CD45RO (UCHL-1), anti-TCR
(WT31), anti-TCR
(11F2), and anti-CD8 (SK1) from BD Biosciences. An anti-CD3
/
(F101.01) hybridoma supernatant was a gift from Dr. B. Rubin (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Purpan, Toulouse, France). The mAb were FITC- or PE-conjugated or purified, and in the latter case a PE-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) from Caltag Laboratories was used as a secondary Ab. Background fluorescence was defined in all cases with an isotype-matched irrelevant mAb from Caltag Laboratories. Briefly, for single- and two-color immunofluorescence, 5 x 105 cells were incubated for 30 min at 4°C with the appropriate mAb in PBS buffer containing 1% FCS. After two washes with PBS, cells were analyzed in an Epics Elite Analyzer cytofluorometer (Coulter Electronics). For comparative stainings we used the mean fluorescence intensity, defined as the average fluorescence value of the corresponding mAb referred to the logarithmic scale of fluorescence intensity along the x-axis of the histograms.
TCR V
repertoire usage (
70% coverage) was determined within CD3+ lymphocytes with the IOTest Beta Mark kit (Beckman Coulter) following the manufacturers instructions.
TCR rearrangement excision circles (TRECs)4
Thymic function was evaluated by peripheral blood CD45RA+ T cell numbers or TCR V
usage (see above) or by quantifying TRECs, the highly specific markers for T cells recently produced by the thymus. The
deletion (signal joint) TRECs formed by
Rec-
J
rearrangement were amplified and quantified in genomic DNA from PBMC by real-time quantitative PCR using a LightCycler system (Roche) as previously described (14). Briefly, fluorescently labeled oligonucleotides were used as reporter probes for standard curve generation and quantification with the manufacturers reagent kits, protocols, and software. Serial dilutions of a plasmid clone containing a 375-bp fragment of the
TREC sequence (supplied by D. Douek, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD) (15) were used to generate standard curves for quantification, and different amounts of a template were used to ensure a linear response. TREC abundance was normalized to cell number by a parallel amplification for a single copy/chromosome gene (
-globin), a plasmid of which was also used to generate standard curves. Data are expressed as TRECs per 105 cells using mean values from duplicate or triplicate assays for both TRECs and
-globin, which never varied >10%. Because there are two globin copies per cell, the TRECs content was calculated as [(mean TRECs quantity/mean globin quantity) (2 x 105)]. The detection limit was two copies. Standard stocks were characterized for total cell content and PCR amplicon quantities by repeated measures over time and were saved as a quality assurance measure of all reagents for run-to-run variability.
 |
Results
|
|---|
Mutation screening and haplotype analysis
Selective partial T lymphocytopenia (T+/B+NK+ phenotype) in patients VI:1 and VI:3 from family 1 (Fig. 1A), together with low surface CD3 expression, was suggestive of a hereditary recessive form of CD3 deficiency. Therefore, we sequenced all exons and intron/exon boundaries of CD3G, CD3D, and CD3E genes in patient VI:1. No mutations were detected in CD3D and CD3E, but the analysis revealed a homozygous A to T transversion at nucleotide 205 in exon 3 (c.205A
T; Fig. 2, A and B) of CD3G. This mutation results in the substitution of the lysine codon at position 69 by a premature stop codon (p.K69X), which is predicted to truncate the CD3
protein shortly after the leader peptide and thus cause the pathology. The mutation creates an additional restriction site for the enzyme Tru9I at exon 3. We took advantage of this finding to develop a screening test specific for the mutation (Materials and Methods, and Fig. 2). This test allowed us to follow the segregation of the mutation in the family and showed that it was, as expected, in a heterozygous state in both parents (obligate carriers) and, additionally, in three healthy relatives tested, including the patients sister (Fig. 2C).

View larger version (46K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 2. Mutation analysis of family 1. A, Wild-type and mutant sequences (with the Tru9 I restriction site underlined) are localized within CD3G exon 3. The arrows in exon 3 identify PCR primers. LP, EXT, TM, and IC indicate the leader peptide, extracellular, transmembrane, and intracellular domains of the protein, respectively. B, Electropherograms depicting the CD3G exon 3 sequence fragment that contains the mutation obtained from an unaffected subject (wild-type allele), a patient (VI:1, homozygous for the c.205 A T mutation), and an heterozygous carrier (V:1). C, Tru9 I digestion of exon 3 PCR products (365 bp) from several family members. A wild-type amplimer (such as in IV:7) yielded five fragments of 175, 75, 42, 40, and 33 bp (only the first four are visible in this 3% agarose gel). When the c.205A T mutation is present, the 175-bp fragment is cleaved in two parts of 138 and 37 bp (not visible). Several family members were heterozygous, whereas only the patient was homozygous for the c.205A T mutation. MW, molecular mass marker.
|
|
The mutation had been reported in another family (no. 2; Fig. 1B) described previously (16). Both families 1 and 2 came from the city of Diyarbakir in Southeast Turkey. Genealogic data, as far as available, revealed no relationship between them, but the geographic and ethnic origin of both families suggested the possibility of a common founder. This was investigated by haplotype analysis of microsatellite markers spanning the CD3 region (Fig. 1). These results showed that both families shared a core haplotype associated with the c.205A
T mutation composed of alleles 195, 152, and 121 of markers D11S1356, MICD3E and GDB:179879, respectively, where the last two are in close proximity to the mutation (Table II and Fig. 1). These data suggest the possibility of a common founder allele bearing the c.205A
T mutation causing the CD3
deficiency in the Turkish population.
Clinical and immunological spectrum of human CD3
deficiencies
Patient VI:1 (and probably VI:3) from family 1 and patient IV:4 from family 2 therefore carried identical mutations in CD3G. However, their clinical features were disparate: patients VI:1 and VI:3 had clinical signs of SCID starting at 7 or 3 mo of age, respectively, whereas patient IV:4 is presently healthy and well into his teens (Table III). In a previous work, we reported a similar situation in two CD3G compound heterozygous [c.1A
G] plus [c.IVS2-1G
C] brothers belonging to a nonconsanguineous Spanish family (17) (Table III and Fig. 1C). Indeed, one of the siblings died early in life with SCID features (III:3), whereas his older brother (III:2) has reached his third decade in good health. The comparative immunophenotype of the five individuals (Figs. 3 and 4A) did not reflect substantial differences in TCR/CD3 expression levels between them, although the shared selective partial 
(and 
) T lymphocytopenia was more intense early in life (an average 3- to 9-fold in VI:1, VI:3, and III:3 vs 2- to 3-fold in IV:4 and III:2; Fig. 4B). There was no obvious correlation between in vitro functional assays and SCID vs non-SCID condition, because proliferation to several TCR-dependent stimuli was depressed in all patients at diagnosis (Table III). We also measured peripheral blood TRECs, CD45RA+ T cells, and TCR V
usage as a means to estimate thymic output and function (18, 19) (Fig. 5). Unfortunately, early transplantation (patient VI:1) or decease (IV:3, III:3) precluded a more complete analysis of these parameters in SCID patients. Nevertheless, the results indicated that all tested patients had very few peripheral blood thymus emigrants (CD45RA+TREC+) as compared with age-matched controls, although the difference for TRECs was more meaningful in younger patients because TRECs are strongly reduced in normal adults (Fig. 5, A and B). In contrast, the memory (CD45RO+) T cell pool and TCR V
usage were essentially normal by RT-PCR and/or flow cytometry (Ref. 11 ; Fig. 5, A and C). The size and survival of the naive T cell pool is more dependent on thymus output and TCR/MHC interactions, respectively, than the size and survival of the memory T cell pool (20). Thus, the results indicated that the lack of CD3
impairs thymus production but not the peripheral expansion or accumulation of mature polyclonal T cells, which correlates with the presence of a small thymus in two tested individuals (13). Therefore, the lack of CD3
can give rise in man to relatively similar immunological features with substantial peripheral T cells despite poor thymus output but with a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms.

View larger version (21K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 4. Comparative absolute lymphocyte counts in human complete CD3 deficiencies. Black symbols identify SCID patients. A, Individual total, T, B, and NK lymphocyte counts are plotted as a function of age in comparison with the normal distribution (P5, median, P95) (38 39 ). Due to the CD3 expression defect,  T lymphocytes were defined as CD4+ plus CD8+ or CD8bright, thus excluding most  T cells (<8% in all cases). T  , B, and NK lymphocytes were defined as 11F2+, CD20+ or surface Ig, and CD56+ or CD16+CD56+, respectively. Thus,  T cells may be underestimated due to the TCR/CD3 expression defect. Data from five, eight, and two different individuals or fetuses from three, three, and one unrelated families for CD3 (   ), CD3 (, with diagonal bar, and with horizontal bar) and CD3 ( ) deficiencies, respectively (8 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 ). The specific mutations are listed in B. B, Normalized fold reductions in absolute T lymphocyte counts (cell/µl) were calculated from the above data as a ratio relative to the normal median in age-matched controls for each data point for the indicated individuals (top, CD3 deficiencies, where n is the number of experiments) or disorders (bottom, CD3 deficiencies, where n is the number of different patients sharing the indicated mutations). The control range (labeled C) is P5/median. Subject VI:3 is presumed to carry the p.K69X mutation, hence the brackets. The average normalized reductions in  T lymphocyte counts ranged 2- to 9-fold for CD3 deficiencies but 1004600 for CD3 or CD3 deficiencies. Reductions in  T lymphocyte counts are also shown for comparison, although they are less reliable as explained above.
|
|

View larger version (18K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
FIGURE 5. Peripheral blood TRECs, CD45RA+ T lymphocytes, and TCR V usage as a measure of thymus function in human complete CD3 deficiencies. A, T cell subsets were defined as indicated. Lines indicate normal ranges (P5, median, P95; Ref. 38 ). Symbols identify patients as in Fig. 4. B, The deletion (signal joint) TRECs were determined as indicated in Materials and Methods. Circles are healthy donors (the gray circle was run with patient samples) and the gray square is the mother of IV: 4 ( +/ control). For further reference, the thick line represents normal TRECs levels as a function of age (47 ). C, TCR V mAb binding within CD3+ lymphocytes. Top, Data from patient III:2 (black bars) at 24 years of age are shown in comparison with a normal age-matched control (C; Empty bars) and with the normal range (P10P90) (48 ). TCR V usage by RT-PCR at 18 years of age is shown for comparison (reported previously; Ref. 11 ). Note that V usage may be underestimated due to the TCR/CD3 expression defect. Discordant PCR/mAb binding results may reflect normal age-dependent fluctuations (V 11) or impaired recognition of the mutant TCR/CD3 complex by the mAb involved (V 4) as reported for framework (BMA031; Ref. 11 ) or V -specific (V 18; Ref. 49 ) mAb recognition of mutant TCR/CD3 complexes (without CD3 or with TCR replacing TCR , respectively). Bottom, Reactivity patterns for TCR V 2 mAb binding in the indicated patients (thick histograms) at 1, 16, and 24 years of age, respectively, as compared with a control (thin dotted histograms). The profiles are shown as logarithm of relative fluorescence vs cell number. The vertical dotted line in each panel indicates the upper limit of background fluorescence using isotype-matched irrelevant mAbs.
|
|
 |
Discussion
|
|---|
Founder effect for the c.205A
T CD3G mutation
We have genetically characterized a new familial case of CD3
deficiency in Turkey. The fact that the CD3G mutation (c.205A
T) is associated with the same CD3-region haplotype in two affected families strongly supports a common founder allele causing CD3
deficiency in the Turkish population. Therefore the initial molecular diagnosis of Turkish patients with an immunophenotype suggestive of CD3
deficiency regardless of the accompanying spectrum of clinical symptoms should consider screening for the c.205A
T mutation. The specific screening test developed here may be useful for the genetic diagnosis of this mutation in other laboratories.
Clinical spectrum of CD3
deficiencies
Despite their relatively similar immunological features, there is clear clinical heterogeneity among human CD3
deficiencies, ranging from healthy (n = 2, subjects IV:4 of family 2 and III:2 in the Spanish family) to life-threatening SCID cases (n = 2, Spanish subject III:3 and subject VI:1 of family 1; or n = 3, if we consider patient VI:3 of family 1). In contrast, human complete CD3
or CD3
deficiencies (n = 8 + 2, respectively) were all SCID infants with essentially no T cells (100- to 4600-fold reduction; Fig. 4B) (21).
Thus, two sets of CD3
-deficient individuals sharing the same truncating mutations, similar immunological characteristics, and comparable medical care belonged to both clinical extremes. We believe their disparate clinical features reflect the involvement of either environmental or genetic factors (modifying genes) (22, 23). In the case of family 1 (and presumably also family 2, because it shared the same disease core haplotype), CD3D and CD3E were excluded as modifying genes, as they were shown to lack additional pathogenic mutations or nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Although the functional data are unfortunately incomplete, both SCID and non-SCID patients showed poor PBMC proliferative responses to Ags and mitogens at diagnosis and persistent low TRECs. These results argue against a correlation of poor proliferative responses with the SCID condition. However, we cannot rule out that differences in thymus function (as observed between VI:1 and IV:4; Figs. 4B and 5, B and C) may have caused the disparate clinical outcomes. Collectively, it seems that thymus output is poor in all patients in terms of naive (CD45RA+TREC+) T cells and, thus, functional T cells are scarce early in life. With time, however, as observed in surviving patients the functional polyclonal memory T cells (CD45R0+) accumulate and expand to close to normal numbers. This may explain the normalization of in vitro proliferation assays in non-SCID patients (Table III, footnote g).
Interestingly, a boy with partial CD3
deficiency was also healthy and is now in his late teens despite a comparatively more severe TCR/CD3 expression defect (
10-fold compared with 3-fold in CD3
deficiency). These results support the idea that partial but not complete CD3
deficiency has low clinical penetrance (24). Last, the fact that the three patients with SCID features shared severe enteropathy suggests that the CD3
-chain, and thus T cell function, is particularly important for survival when the intestinal mucosal barrier is breached.
A hierarchy for structural and functional defects in human CD3 deficiencies
The new family confirms that, in sharp contrast to the lack of CD3
or CD3
, the complete lack of CD3
allowed in all cases for the production of substantial numbers of peripheral polyclonal 
(and 
) T cells (Fig. 4 and Ref. 11) expressing relatively high levels of 
(and 
) TCR/CD3 (Fig. 3 and our unpublished results). Thus, the TCR (and the pre-TCR) can be quite functional in humans without CD3
, but not without CD3
or CD3
. This could be due to structural reasons precluding TCR or pre-TCR assembly in the absence of CD3
or CD3
as described originally for all 
TCR/CD3 chains (25). However, it was later shown in human non-T cells (HeLa) that the expression of incomplete human 
TCR/CD3 complexes is possible when either CD3
or CD3
(but not
or any other chain) is absent (26). This suggested a
>>
=
hierarchy for impact of the missing chain on structure. Such a hierarchy could be expected given the fact that
is shared by both CD3
and 
dimers in the normal complex (Fig. 6A). Thus, the structural constraint argument holds for CD3
/ but not for CD3
/ humans. In a lymphoid context (B cell microsomes), 
dimers were shown to associate to TCR
or TCR
, whereas 
dimers could only bind to TCR
(27), supporting a
>
structural hierarchy. Also, although both
/ and
/ TCR/CD3 are structurally viable, only the former can signal for T cell selection (and function) in humans despite the high homology of the two chains (66%) (28). A boy with partial CD3
deficiency showed substantial T cell numbers and function despite a severe TCR/CD3 expression defect (10-fold) (24), supporting the idea that CD3
is structurally critical but less so for signaling when CD3
and CD3
are present, because even minute amounts of TCR sufficed for T cell selection/expansion in that case. Therefore we believe that there must be some signaling difference between
/ and
/ TCR/CD3 mutant complexes, as proposed in Fig. 6A (
>>
hierarchy for impact on structure, but
>>
for impact on signaling). In fact, mammalian CD3
resembles the chicken CD3
precursor more closely than CD3
(29), suggesting that the latter became specialized later in evolution. Indeed, specialized signaling functions for each CD3 chain have been reported previously (30). The proposed hypothesis could be tested by retroviral transduction of 2A peptide-linked human TCR/CD3 constructs lacking either
or
and functional analyses of their signaling potential (31).
Mice are not humans
Gene targeting of CD3 components in mice has shown that the ablation of any CD3 protein essentially blocked T cell development, although at different intrathymic checkpoints and to a different extent (30). Indeed, all CD3 proteins except CD3
are required for T cell selection at the pre-TCR (TCR-
) checkpoint (double-negative/double-positive transition) with an
>
>
>>
rank (Fig. 6B). Thus, contrary to what we propose in humans, mice hierarchy for impact on signaling would be
>>
. However, as observed in humans in vitro, the expression of incomplete murine 
TCR/CD3 complexes in non-T cells (3T3) is possible to substantial levels when either CD3
or
(but not
or any other chain) is absent (Ref. 31 and D. Vignali, unpublished observations), supporting the
>>
hierarchy for structural constraints. Similar results were obtained in vivo (6, 9, 32). Interestingly, CD3
is also dispensable for mature 
(but not 
) T cell selection and for 
TCR surface expression in mice, supporting substantial signaling through certain
/ TCR/CD3 isotypes (33). But the proposed 
/




stoichiometry for the murine 
TCR/CD3 clearly does not hold in humans.
/ humans resemble the mice model, but
/ and
/ human do not (34). For instance, humans but not mice lacking CD3
have no double-positive thymocytes and no 
T cells, and mice but not humans lacking CD3
have very few peripheral 
or 
T cells (Figs. 4 and 6B). Also, in a murine
/
/ double knockout model (35), human but not mouse CD3
restored signaling at the TCR-
checkpoint (36). Similarly, a human 
heterodimer restored pre-TCR functions in
/
/,
/, and (partially)
/ mice (37). Thus, human CD3
carries critical signaling cues that can mimic murine CD3
. Taken together, these results suggest a different role for CD3
and CD3
in humans and mice in pre-TCR and TCR function during 
T cell development. Nevertheless, lymphocyte selection and expansion mechanisms may differ between species, because other immunodeficiencies show also dramatic differences as compared with mice models. For instance, Zap70- or CIITA-deficient humans show normal or substantial numbers of peripheral CD4+ T cells, respectively, and
c- or Jak3-deficient humans have normal numbers of B cells, whereas their murine counterparts do not. Finally, CD3 gene inactivation in mice, even when kept in pathogen-free facilities, may cause pathological manifestations (enteropathy in CD3
- or CD3
-deficient mice) that resemble those observed in some humans (CD3
or
deficiency).
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
We thank Dr. Selcul Sozer (Uludag University Medical Faculty, Görükle-Bursa) for her excellent help with cytometric data; Manuel de la Rosa and Edgar Fernandez-Malavé (Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Madrid) for helpful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript; F. Ihlan Tezcan (Hacettepe University Childrens Hospital, Ankara, Turkey) for clinical data from patient VI:1; Maarten J. M. van Tol (Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands), H. Takada (School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan), Dario Vignali (St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, Memphis, TN), and Edgar Fernandez-Malavé for sharing unpublished data; and Rita Doforno and Sindo Fontán (Hospital la Paz, Madrid), M. A. Muñoz-Fernandez (Hospital Gregorio Marañón), Ramón Rodríguez (Universidad Complutense), and Garbsiñe Roy (Hospital Ramón y Cajal) for laboratory tests.
 |
Disclosures
|
|---|
The authors have no financial conflict of interest.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 This work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BFU2005-01738/BMC), Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (05/946), Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (BMC2002-3247), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (GR/SAL/0570/2004), and Mutua Madrileña. A.C.G. and V.P.-F. were supported by fellowships from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, respectively. 
2 M.J.R., M.A.M.-P., and S.S.K. are joint first authors. 
3 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. José R. Regueiro, Departamento de Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain. E-mail address: regueiro{at}med.ucm.es 
4 Abbreviation used in this paper: TREC, TCR rearrangement excision circle. 
Received for publication July 27, 2006.
Accepted for publication November 28, 2006.
 |
References
|
|---|
- Weiss, A., D. R. Littman. 1994. Signal transduction by lymphocyte antigen receptors. Cell 76: 263-274. [Medline]
- Call, M. E., K. W. Wucherpfennig. 2005. The T cell receptor: critical role of the membrane environment in receptor assembly and function. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 23: 101-125. [Medline]
- Call, M. E., J. Pyrdol, K. W. Wucherpfennig. 2004. Stoichiometry of the T-cell receptor-CD3 complex and key intermediates assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum. EMBO J. 23: 2348-2357. [Medline]
- Alarcon, B., D. Gil, P. Delgado, W. W. Schamel. 2003. Initiation of TCR signaling: regulation within CD3 dimers. Immunol. Rev. 191: 38-46. [Medline]
- Schraven, B., A. Marie-Cardine, C. Hubener, E. Bruyns, I. Ding. 1999. Integration of receptor-mediated signals in T cells by transmembrane adaptor proteins. Immunol. Today 20: 431-434. [Medline]
- Haks, M. C., T. A. Cordaro, J. H. van den Brakel, J. B. Haanen, E. F. de Vries, J. Borts, P. Krimperfort, A. M. Kruisbeek. 2001. A redundant role of the CD3
-immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif in mature T cell function. J. Immunol. 166: 2576-2588. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Fischer, A., G. de Saint Basile, F. Le Deist. 2005. CD3 deficiencies. Curr. Opin. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 5: 491-495. [Medline]
- Regueiro, J. R., A. Arnaiz-Villena, M. Ortiz de Landazuri, J. M. Martin-Villa, J. L. Vicario, V. Pascual-Ruiz, F. Guerra-Garcia, J. Alcami, M. Lopez-Botet, J. Manzanares. 1986. Familial defect of CD3 (T3) expression by T cells associated with rare gut epithelial cell autoantibodies. Lancet 1: 1274-1275. [Medline]
- Haks, M. C., P. Krimpenfort, J. Borst, A. M. Kruisbeek. 1998. The CD3
chain is essential for development of both the TCR
and TCR
lineages. EMBO J. 17: 1871-1882. [Medline] - Pacheco-Castro, A., D. Alvarez-Zapata, P. Serrano-Torres, J. R. Regueiro. 1998. Signaling through a CD3
-deficient TCR/CD3 complex in immortalized mature CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. J. Immunol. 161: 3152-3160. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Zapata, D. A., A. Pacheco-Castro, P. S. Torres, A. R. Ramiro, E. San Jose, B. Alarcón, L. Alibaud, B. Rubin, M. L. Toribio, J. R. Regueiro. 1999. Conformational and biochemical differences in the TCR.CD3 complex of CD8+ versus CD4+ mature lymphocytes revealed in the absence of CD3
. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 35119-35128. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Zapata, D. A., W. W. Schamel, P. S. Torres, B. Alarcon, N. E. Rossi, M. N. Navarro, M. L. Toribio, J. R. Regueiro. 2004. Biochemical differences in the

T cell receptor. CD3 surface complex between CD8+ and CD4+ human mature T lymphocytes. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 24485-24492. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Regueiro, J. R., T. Español. 2007. CD3 and CD8 deficiencies. H. D. Ochs, and C. I. Edward Smith, and J. M. Puck, eds. Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases, a Molecular and Genetic Approach 2nd Ed.216-226. Oxford University Press, New York.
- Correa, R., M. A. Muñoz-Fernández. 2001. Viral phenotype affects the thymical production of new T-cells in HIV-1 infected children. AIDS 15: 1959-1963. [Medline]
- Douek, D. C., R. D. McFarland, P. H. Keiser, E. A. Gage, J. M. Massey, B. F. Haynes, M. A. Polis, A. T. Haase, M. B. Feinberg, J. L. Sullivan, et al 1998. Changes in thymic function with age and during the treatment of HIV infection. Nature 396: 690-695. [Medline]
- van Tol, M. J. D., O. Sanal, R. Langlois van den Bergh, Y. van de Wal, M. T. L. Roos, A. I. Berkel, J. M. Vossen, F. Koning. 1997. CD3
-chain deficiency leads to a cellular immunodeficiency with mild clinical presentation. The Immunologist (Suppl. 1): 41-42. - Arnaiz-Villena, A., M. Timon, A. Corell, P. Perez-Aciego, J. M. Martin-Villa, J. R. Regueiro. 1992. Primary immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CD3-
subunit of the T-lymphocyte receptor. N. Engl. J. Med. 327: 529-533. [Medline] - Kong, F. K., C. L. Chen, A. Six, R. D. Hockett, M. D. Cooper. 1999. T cell receptor gene deletion circles identify recent thymic emigrants in the peripheral T cell pool. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 1536-1540. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Mackall, C. L., L. Granger, M. A. Sheard, R. Cepeda, R. E. Gress. 1993. T-cell regeneration after bone marrow transplantation: differential CD45 isoform expression on thymic-derived versus thymic-independent progeny. Blood 82: 2585-2594. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Almeida, A. R., B. Rocha, A. A. Freitas, C. Tanchot. 2005. Homeostasis of T cell numbers: from thymus production to peripheral compartmentalization and the indexation of regulatory T cells. Semin. Immunol. 17: 239-249. [Medline]
- Buckley, R. H.. 2004. The multiple causes of human SCID. J. Clin. Invest. 114: 1409-1411. [Medline]
- Foster, C. B., T. Lehrnbecher, F. Mol, S. M. Steinberrg, D. J. Venzon, T. J. Walsh, D. Noack, J. Rae, J. A. Winkelstein, J. T. Curnutte, S. J. Chanock. 1998. Host defense molecule polymorphisms influence the risk for immune-mediated complications in chronic granulomatous disease. J. Clin. Invest. 102: 2146-2155. [Medline]
- Casanova, J. L., L. Abel. 2005. Inborn errors of immunity: the rule rather than the exception. J. Exp. Med. 202: 197-201. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Soudais, C., J. P. de Villartay, F. Le Deist, A. Fischer, B. Lisowska-Grospierre. 1993. Independent mutations of the human CD3-epsilon gene resulting in a T cell receptor/CD3 complex immunodeficiency. Nat. Genet. 3: 77-81. [Medline]
- Ohashi, P. S., T. W. Mak, P. Van den Elsen, Y. Yanagi, Y. Yoshikai, A. F. Calman, C. Terhorst, J. D. Stobo, A. Weiss. 1985. Reconstitution of an active surface T3/T-cell antigen receptor by DNA transfer. Nature 316: 606-609. [Medline]
- Kappes, D. J., S. Tonegawa. 1991. Surface expression of alternative forms of the TCR/CD3 complex. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88: 10619-10623. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Call, M. E., J. Pyrdol, M. Wiedmann, K. W. Wucherpfennig. 2002. The organizing principle in the formation of the T cell receptor-CD3 complex. Cell 111: 967-979. [Medline]
- Krissansen, G. W., M. J. Owen, W. Verbi, M. J. Crumpton. 1986. Primary structure of the T3
subunit of the T3/T cell antigen receptor complex deduced from cDNA sequences: evolution of the T3
and
subunits. EMBO J. 5: 1799-1808. [Medline] - Gobel, T. W., J. P. Dangy. 2000. Evidence for a stepwise evolution of the CD3 family. J. Immunol. 164: 879-883. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Malissen, B., L. Ardouin, S. Y. Lin, M. Malissen. 1999. Function of the CD3 subunits of the Pre-TCR and TCR complexes during T development. Adv. Immunol. 72: 103-148. [Medline]
- Szymczak, A. L., C. J. Workman, Y. Wang, K. M. Vignali, S. Dilioglou, E. F. Vanin, D. A. Vignali. 2004. Correction of multi-gene deficiency in vivo using a single self-cleaving 2A peptide-based retroviral vector. Nat. Biotechnol. 22: 589-594. [Medline]
- Dave, V. P., Z. Cao, C. Browne, B. Alarcon, G. Fernandez-Miguel, J. Lafaille, A. de la Hera, S. Tonegawa, D. J. Kappes. 1997. CD3
deficiency arrests development of the
but not the
T cell lineage. EMBO J. 16: 1360-1370. [Medline] - Hayes, S. M., P. E. Love. 2006. Stoichiometry of the murine

T cell receptor. J. Exp. Med. 203: 47-52. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Cunningham-Rundles, C., P. P. Ponda. 2005. Molecular defects in T- and B-cell primary immunodeficiency diseases. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 5: 880-892. [Medline]
- Wang, B., N. Wang, M. Salio, A. Sharpe, D. Allen, J. She, C. Terhorst. 1998. Essential and partially overlapping role of CD3
and CD3
for development of 
and 
T lymphocytes. J. Exp. Med. 188: 1375-1380. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Fernandez-Malave, E., N. Wang, M. Pulgar, W. W. A. Schamel, B. Alarcon, C. Terhorst. 2006. Overlapping functions of human CD3
and mouse CD3
in 
T cell development revealed in a humanized CD3
-deficient mouse. Blood 108: 3420-3427. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Pan, Q., J. F. Brodeur, K. Drbal, V. P. Dave. 2006. Different role for mouse and human CD3
/
heterodimer in preT cell receptor (preTCR) function: human CD3
/epsilon heterodimer restores the defective preTCR function in CD3
- and CD3
-deficient mice. Mol. Immunol. 43: 1741-1750. [Medline] - Comans-Bitter, W. M., R. de Groot, R. van den Beemd, H. J. Neijens, W. C. Hop, K. Groeneveld, H. Hooijkaas, J. J. van Dongen. 1997. Immunophenotyping of blood lymphocytes in childhood: reference values for lymphocyte subpopulations. J. Pediatr. 130: 388-393. [Medline]
- Ikinciogullari, A., T. Kendirli, F. Dogu, Y. Egin, I. Reisli, S. Cin, E. Babacan. 2004. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in healthy Turkish children. Turk. J. Pediatr. 46: 125-130. [Medline]
- Regueiro, J. R., P. Perez-Aciego, P. Aparicio, C. Martinez, P. Morales, A. Arnaiz-Villena. 1990. Low IgG2 and polysaccharide response in a T cell receptor expression defect. Eur. J. Immunol. 20: 2411-2416. [Medline]
- Timon, M., A. Arnaiz-Villena, C. Rodr
guez-Gallego, P. Perez-Aciego, A. Pacheco, J. R. Regueiro. 1993. Selective disbalances of peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets in human CD3
deficiency. Eur. J. Immunol. 23: 1440-1444. [Medline] - Sanal, O., L. Yel, F. Ersoy, I. Tezcan, A. I. Berkel. 1996. Low expression of the T-cell receptor-CD3 complex: a case with a clinical presentation resembling humoral immunodeficiency. Turk. J. Pediatr. 38: 81-84. [Medline]
- Allende, L. M., M. A. Garcia-Perez, A. Moreno, J. Ruiz-Contreras, A. Arnaiz-Villena. 2000. Fourteen years follow-up of an autoimmune patient lacking the CD3
subunit of the T-lymphocyte receptor. Blood 96: 4007-4008. [Free Full Text] - Dadi, H. K., A. J. Simon, C. M. Roifman. 2003. Effect of CD3-
deficiency on maturation of
/
and
/
T-cell lineages in severe combined immunodeficiency. N. Eng. J. Med. 349: 1821-1828. [Free Full Text] - de Saint Basile, G., F. Geissmann, E. Flori, B. Uring-Lambert, C. Soudais, M. Cavazzana-Calvo, A. Durandy, N. Jabado, A. Fischer, F. Le Deist. 2004. Severe combined immunodeficiency caused by deficiency in either the
or the epsilon subunit of CD3. J. Clin. Invest. 114: 1512-1517. [Medline] - Takada, H., A. Nombra, C. M. Roifman, T. Hara. 2005. Severe combined immunodeficiency caused by a splicing abnormality of the CD3
gene. Eur. J. Pediatr. 164: 785-786. [Medline] - Loeffler, J., R. Bauer, H. Hebart, D. C. Douek, G. Rauser, P. Bader, H. Einsele. 2002. Quantification of T-cell receptor excision circle DNA using fluorescence resonance energy transfer and the LightCycler system. J. Immunol. Methods 271: 167-175. [Medline]
- van den Beemd, R., P. Boor, E. G. Van Lochem, W. C. J. Hop, A. W. Langerak, I. M. Wolvers-Tettero, H. Hooijkaas, J. van Dongen. 2000. Flow cytometric analysis of the V
repertoire in healthy controls. Cytometry 40: 336-345. [Medline] - Langerak, A. W., R. van Den Beemd, I. L. Wolvers-Tettero, P. P. Boor, E. G. van Lochem, H. Hooijkaas, J. J. van Dongen. 2001. Molecular and flow cytometric analysis of the V
repertoire for clonality assessment in mature TCR
T-cell proliferations. Blood 98: 165-173. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Sun, Z. Y., S. T. Kim, I. C. Kim, A. Fahmy, E. L. Reinherz, G. Wagner. 2004. Solution structure of the CD3 ectodomain and comparison with CD3 as a basis for modeling T cell receptor topology and signaling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 16867-16872. [Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Arnett, K. L., S. C. Harrison, D. C. Willey. 2004. Crystal structure of a human CD3-epsilon/
dimer in complex with a UCHT1 single-chain antibody fragment. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 16268-16273. [Abstract/Free Full Text] - Dib, C., S. Faure, C. Fizames, D. Samson, N. Drouot, A. Vignal, P. Millasseau, S. Marc, J. Hazan, E. Seboun, et al 1996. A comprehensive genetic map of the human genome based on 5,264 microsatellites. Nature 380: 152-154. [Medline]
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
G. M. Siegers, M. Swamy, E. Fernandez-Malave, S. Minguet, S. Rathmann, A. C. Guardo, V. Perez-Flores, J. R. Regueiro, B. Alarcon, P. Fisch, et al.
Different composition of the human and the mouse {gamma}{delta} T cell receptor explains different phenotypes of CD3{gamma} and CD3{delta} immunodeficiencies
J. Exp. Med.,
October 29, 2007;
204(11):
2537 - 2544.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|