Involvement of CD1 in Peripheral Deletion of T Lymphocytes Is Independent of NK T Cells

• Published in: The Journal of immunology (1950) 2001-03, Vol.166 (5), p.3090-3097
• Main Authors: Dao, Tao, Exley, Mark, Mehal, Wajahat Z, Tahir, Syed Muhammad Ali, Snapper, Scott, Taniguchi, Masaru, Balk, Steven P, Crispe, I. Nicholas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antigens, CD1 - genetics; Antigens, CD1 - physiology; CD1 antigen; CD3 Complex - immunology; CD4-CD8 Ratio; Cell Death - immunology; Cell Movement - immunology; Cytotoxicity, Immunologic - genetics; Down-Regulation - immunology; Immune Sera - administration & dosage; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Killer Cells, Natural - cytology; Killer Cells, Natural - immunology; Killer Cells, Natural - metabolism; Killer Cells, Natural - pathology; Liver - immunology; Liver - pathology; Lymphocyte Activation - genetics; Lymphopenia - genetics; Lymphopenia - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; NK antigen; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - antagonists & inhibitors; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - biosynthesis; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - cytology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - metabolism; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - pathology
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.166.5.3090

During peripheral T cell deletion, lymphocytes accumulate in nonlymphoid organs including the liver, a tissue that expresses the nonclassical, MHC-like molecule, CD1. Injection of anti-CD3 Ab results in T cell activation, which in normal mice is followed by peripheral T cell deletion. However, in CD1-deficient mice, the deletion of the activated T cells from the lymph nodes was impaired. This defect in peripheral T cell deletion was accompanied by attenuated accumulation of CD8(+) T cells in the liver. In tetra-parental bone marrow chimeras, expression of CD1 on the T cells themselves was not required for T cell deletion, suggesting a role for CD1 on other cells with which the T cells interact. We tested whether this role was dependent on the Ag receptor-invariant, CD1-reactive subset of NK T cells using two other mutant mouse lines that lack most NK T cells, due to deletion of the genes encoding either beta(2)-microglobulin or the TCR element J alpha 281. However, these mice had no abnormality of peripheral T cell deletion. These findings indicate a novel role for CD1 in T cell deletion, and show that CD1 functions in this process through mechanisms that does not involve the major, TCR-invariant set of NK T cells.