期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2000
卷号：97
期号：23
页码：12711-12716
DOI：10.1073/pnas.220423597
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：We examined how cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) regulates heterogeneous CD4+ T cell responses by using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a CD4+ T cell-mediated disease that is subject to regulation by CTLA-4. Disease incidence and severity were used as measures of in vivo CD4+ T cell responses. The frequency, cytokine production, and reactivity of primed T cells were determined from animals immunized with proteolipid protein (PLP)-139-151 (disease agonist), PLP-Q (disease antagonist), or both peptides, and treated with control or anti-CTLA-4 antibody to analyze the responding population. CTLA-4 blockade exacerbated disease in PLP-139-151-primed animals and overcame disease antagonism in coimmunized animals, but did not permit disease induction in PLP-Q-primed animals. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis enhancement was associated with increased frequencies of cytokine-producing cells and increased ratios of IFN-{gamma} to IL-4 secretors responsive to PLP-139-151. Priming with PLP-Q elicited IL-4 and IL-2, but not IFN-{gamma} secretors cross-reactive with PLP-139-151. Strikingly, CTLA-4 blockade was found to decrease rather than increase the frequencies of cross-reactive IL-4 and IL-2 secretors. Thus, CTLA-4 engagement limits the size, but increases the breadth, of reactivity of a primed pool of CD4+ T cells, consequently regulating its function.
