1. Purinergic P2X7 Receptor Drives T Cell Lineage Choice and Shapes Peripheral γδ Cells
- Author
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Ursula Schenk, Jessica Marcandalli, Michela Frascoli, and Fabio Grassi
- Subjects
Cell type ,T cell ,Immunology ,Biology ,Mice ,Adenosine Triphosphate ,T-Lymphocyte Subsets ,medicine ,Animals ,Immunology and Allergy ,Cell Lineage ,IL-2 receptor ,Receptor ,Cells, Cultured ,Mice, Knockout ,Mice, Inbred BALB C ,Purinergic receptor ,T-cell receptor ,Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta ,P2RX7 ,Coculture Techniques ,Cell biology ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Receptors, Purinergic P2X7 ,Signal transduction ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
TCR signal strength instructs αβ versus γδ lineage decision in immature T cells. Increased signal strength of γδTCR with respect to pre-TCR results in induction of the γδ differentiation program. Extracellular ATP evokes physiological responses through purinergic P2 receptors expressed in the plasma membrane of virtually all cell types. In peripheral T cells, ATP released upon TCR stimulation enhances MAPK activation through P2X receptors. We investigated whether extracellular ATP and P2X receptors signaling tuned TCR signaling at the αβ/γδ lineage bifurcation checkpoint. We show that P2X7 expression was selectively increased in immature γδ+CD25+ cells. These cells were much more competent to release ATP than pre–TCR-expressing cells following TCR stimulation and Ca2+ influx. Genetic ablation as well as pharmacological antagonism of P2X7 resulted in impaired ERK phosphorylation, reduction of early growth response (Egr) transcripts induction, and diversion of γδTCR-expressing thymocytes toward the αβ lineage fate. The impairment of the ERK-Egr-inhibitor of differentiation 3 (Id3) signaling pathway in γδ cells from p2rx7−/− mice resulted in increased representation of the Id3-independent NK1.1-expressing γδ T cell subset in the periphery. Our results indicate that ATP release and P2X7 signaling upon γδTCR expression in immature thymocytes constitutes an important costimulus in T cell lineage choice through the ERK-Egr-Id3 signaling pathway and contributes to shaping the peripheral γδ T cell compartment.
- Published
- 2012