Abstract
Productive immune responses require an appropriate environment to support peripheral CD8+ T cell survival. Althoug h host MHC class I molecules appear to be required for this process, the cellular and molecular requirements have not been comprehensively studied. Using adoptive transfer of 2C/recombinase-activating gene-2 (RAG-2 -/- TCR-transgenic T cells, we found that the survival of both naive and effector CD8+ T cells was dependent upon host expression of the same MHC class I alleles that supported thymic selection. Expression of appropriate MHC class I by either bone marrow- or non-bone-marrow-derived cells was sufficient, suggesting that professional antigen-presenting cells were not mandatory. In contrast to MHC class I, neither T cell expression of CD28 nor host expression of ICAM-1 was required for peripheral T cell survival. Finally, T cell death in the absence of appropriate host MHC class I was overcome by elimination of Fas signaling but not by over-expression of Bcl-XL by CD8+ T cells. These results suggest that, in the absence of a survival signal provided by engagement of host MHC/self peptide complexes, CD8+ T cells die via a Fas-dependent, mitochondria-independent pathway.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2917-2926 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | European Journal of Immunology |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- CD8
- MHC
- T lymphocytes
- TCR
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology