Although most of CD4+ T cells develop through their interaction with MHC class II molecules on thymic epithelial cells, the MHC class II-dependent T cell-T cell (T-T) interaction can also generate mature CD4+ T cells in the periphery if thymocytes exp...
Although most of CD4+ T cells develop through their interaction with MHC class II molecules on thymic epithelial cells, the MHC class II-dependent T cell-T cell (T-T) interaction can also generate mature CD4+ T cells in the periphery if thymocytes express MHC class II molecules, which is physiologic in human. In the CIITApIV-/-plck-CIITAtg mice (T-T mice; mice deficient in promoter IV of MHC class II transactivator CIITA and transgenic for CIITA under the control of the proximal p56lck promoter), in which thymocytes are educated by MHC class II molecules only on other thymocytes, CD4+ T cells apparently provided efficient B cell help for T cell-dependent antibody responses. Here I investigated the B cell immune responses in the T-T mice compared to wild type (WT) mice in more details and found that the B cell help by CD4+ T cells from the T-T mice (T-T CD4+ T cells) was incomplete in some aspects. T-T CD4+ T cells were inefficient for the effective germinal center reaction and rather preferentially induced extrafollicular B cell responses upon the immunization with NP-KLH (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl acetyl- Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin). Interestingly, the number of follicular helper T (Tfh) cells in the homeostatic condition without any immunization was increased in the T-T mice and, accordingly, the number of CD4+ T cells in the B cell follicle was also increased in the T-T mice. However, the numbers of Tfh cells and follicularly localized CD4+ T cells in the T-T mice did not increase upon the immunization whereas those in the WT mice increased clearly. The secondary antibody responses in the T-T mice were grossly normal except a poor generation of high affinity IgM antibodies, but bone marrow long-lived plasma cells were scarcely detectable 200 days after immunization of NP-KLH in the T-T mice in contrast to WT mice. The constitutive T-T interaction in the T-T mice appeared to lower the interaction between CD4+ T cells and B cells as the number of B-CD4+ T cell conjugates and doublets with Tfh cells was decreased in the T-T mice.
In summary, the T-T CD4+ T cells were partially defective in the B cell help, especially in the germinal center reaction and the generation of bone marrow long-lived plasma cells. The T-T interaction is thought to enrich the T cell immunity by generating diverse kinds of effector T cells including Tfh cells, but T-T CD4+ T cells appear not to provide the complete sets of T cell functions in the absence of conventional T cell-thymic epithelial cell (T-E) CD4+ T cells.