Regulation of CD28 expression on CD8+ T cells by CTLA-4

J Leukoc Biol. 2008 Apr;83(4):853-63. doi: 10.1189/jlb.0107065. Epub 2007 Dec 27.

Abstract

CD28 and CTLA-4 are the critical costimulatory receptors that predominantly determine the outcome of T cell stimulation, with CD28 promoting positive costimulation and CTLA-4 inducing inhibitory signals. Blockage of the B7-CD28/CTLA-4 pathway leads to transplantation tolerance. However, the exact mechanism of the inhibitory function of CTLA-4 remains elusive. Here, we investigated the influence of CTLA-4 expression on CD28 using CTLA-4-transfected Jurkat T cells as well as primary T cells. Up-regulation of CTLA-4 induced abrogation of IL-2 production, indicating an anergic phenotype of CTLA-4(high) T cells. Besides the negative signaling function of CTLA-4, we show for the first time that CTLA-4 expression promotes the down-regulation of CD28 on the T cell surface as a result of enhanced internalization and degradation of CD28. These data suggest that apart from the established competition for B7.1 and B7.2 by CTLA-4, inhibition of T cells by CTLA-4 might be additionally explained by reduction of CD28 on the cell surface, which might impede T cell response to stimulation. Our data provide a previously unrecognized mechanism for T cell regulation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, CD / genetics
  • Antigens, CD / physiology*
  • Antigens, Differentiation / genetics
  • Antigens, Differentiation / physiology*
  • CD28 Antigens / genetics*
  • CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • CTLA-4 Antigen
  • DNA Primers
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Expression Regulation / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Interleukin-2 / analysis
  • Jurkat Cells
  • Reference Values
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Antigens, CD
  • Antigens, Differentiation
  • CD28 Antigens
  • CTLA-4 Antigen
  • CTLA4 protein, human
  • DNA Primers
  • Interleukin-2