Developmental control of T-cell receptor internalization.

Since TCR/CD3 modulation may be involved in induction of T cell tolerance to self antigens, we compared ligand-induced TCR/CD3 internalization by a CTL clone and by immature thymocytes and mature T cells from mice bearing the same TCR alpha beta as transgene. The ligand used is a monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for the receptor expressed by the clone and transgenic mice (anti-Ti mAb). CD8+ splenocytes triggered by anti-Ti mAb internalize the ligand-TCR/CD3 complex at a low rate, through a mechanism inhibited by the protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor genistein and by staurosporine, a potent but non selective protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. This pattern of inhibition was similar to that observed in the CTL clone. Anti-Ti mAb induced TCR/CD3 internalization in CD4+CD8+ thymocytes at a high rate, through a mechanism which was insensitive to either genistein or staurosporine. In the CTL clone, genistein was shown to inhibit TCR/CD3 surface redistribution preceeding internalization. To characterize the PTK possibly involved in this step, we analyzed TCR/CD3 associated kinases in mature T splenocytes and thymocytes. Kinase activities present in anti-Ti mAb immunoprecipitates phosphorylated the CD3 components gamma, delta, epsilon, and zeta in both cell types although the intensity was stronger in splenic than in thymocyte extracts, whereas the phosphorylation of 70, 14 and 12kD substrates was more pronounced in thymocytes than in splenocytes. Comparable amounts of CD3 components were coprecipitated with and phosphorylated by p56lck and p59fyn respectively, in both cell types.