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：1998
卷号：95
期号：5
页码：2458-2462
DOI：10.1073/pnas.95.5.2458
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Mice lacking CD81 (TAPA-1), a widely expressed tetraspanin molecule, have impaired antibody responses to protein antigens. This defect is specific to antigens that preferentially stimulate a T helper 2 response (ovalbumin or keyhole limpet hemocyanin in alum) and is only seen with T cell-dependent antigens. Absence of CD81 on B cells is sufficient to cause the defect. Also, antigen-specific interleukin (IL) 4 production is greatly reduced in the spleen and lymph nodes of CD81-null mice compared with heterozygous littermates. Thus, expression of CD81 on B cells is critical for inducing optimal IL-4 and antibody production during T helper 2 responses. These findings suggest that CD81 may interact with a ligand on T cells to signal IL-4 production. By using a soluble form of CD81 as a probe, a putative ligand for CD81 was identified on a subset of B and T cells. Two possible models for the interaction of CD81 on B cells with a potential ligand on either B or T cells are proposed.
