Cutting edge: direct action of thymic stromal lymphopoietin on activated human CD4+ T cells

I Rochman, N Watanabe, K Arima, YJ Liu… - The Journal of …, 2007 - journals.aai.org
I Rochman, N Watanabe, K Arima, YJ Liu, WJ Leonard
The Journal of Immunology, 2007journals.aai.org
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a cytokine that promotes CD4+ T cell homeostasis
and contributes to allergic and inflammatory responses. TSLP can act directly on mouse
CD4+ T cells, but in humans, the available data have indicated that TSLP receptors are not
expressed on CD4+ T cells and that TSLP instead activates dendritic cells, which in turn
promote the proliferation and differentiation of CD4+ T cells. We now unexpectedly
demonstrate the presence of TSLP receptors on activated human CD4+ T cells. Strikingly …
Abstract
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a cytokine that promotes CD4+ T cell homeostasis and contributes to allergic and inflammatory responses. TSLP can act directly on mouse CD4+ T cells, but in humans, the available data have indicated that TSLP receptors are not expressed on CD4+ T cells and that TSLP instead activates dendritic cells, which in turn promote the proliferation and differentiation of CD4+ T cells. We now unexpectedly demonstrate the presence of TSLP receptors on activated human CD4+ T cells. Strikingly, whereas freshly isolated peripheral blood human T cells show little if any response to TSLP, TCR stimulation allows a potent response to this cytokine. Moreover, TSLP increases the sensitivity of human CD4+ T cells to low doses of IL-2, augmenting responsiveness of these cells to TCR engagement. Our results establish that human CD4+ T cells are direct targets for TSLP.
journals.aai.org