Hyaluronan binding identifies the most proliferative activated and memory T cells

作者：Maeshima Nina; Poon Grace F T; Dosanjh Manisha; Felberg Jackie; Lee Sally S M; Cross Jennifer L; Birkenhead Darlene; Johnson Pauline^*

来源：European Journal of Immunology, 2011, 41(4): 1108-1119.

DOI：10.1002/eji.201040870

• CD44
• Hyaluronan
• T-cell activation
• T-cell memory
• T-cell proliferation

CD44 is expressed on T cells where its ability to bind hyaluronan is tightly regulated. Here, we investigated when T cells bind hyaluronan during an immune response. We found that naive, murine T cells do not bind fluoresceinated hyaluronan but are induced to bind upon antigen-induced T-cell activation in vitro and in vivo. Hyaluronan binding occurred on proliferating T cells and the percentage of hyaluronan-binding cells correlated with the strength of the activation stimulus. A small percentage of hyaluronan-binding cells persisted after in vitro activation and had a memory phenotype (CD122(+)CD44(hi)). This hyaluronan-binding population increased after culture with IL-7 or IL-15 and proliferated more rapidly than nonbinding cells. In vivo, approximately 20-30% of antigen-specific OT-I CD8(+) memory T cells in the spleen and BM bound hyaluronan. Hyaluronan binding identified memory cells that proliferated faster in IL-7 and IL-15, and enriched for CD62L(+) central memory cells. In vivo homeostatic proliferation induced hyaluronan binding on a small percentage of the most rapidly dividing cells after several cell divisions. This study demonstrates that hyaluronan binding is induced upon antigen-induced T-cell activation and occurs on a percentage of the most proliferative activated and memory T cells.

• 出版日期2011-4