Differential regulatory signals delivered by antibody binding to the CD28 (Tp44) molecule during the activation of human T lymphocytes

Molecule CD28 (Tp44) is expressed on the surface of majority of human T cells and has been implicated to play an active role in the regulation of T cell growth. The present study examines the effect of antibody binding to the CD28 molecule during T cell activation. Anti-CD28 but not isotype-matched anti-CD5 mAb consistently augmented anti-CD3-induced and IL-2-induced T cell proliferation and subsequent release of soluble CD25 molecule. When added together, mAb anti-CD28 and anti-CD5 acted synergistically to cause 2- to 7-fold enhancement of T cell activation induced by anti-CD3 mAb or IL-2 with no effect on the development of non-MHC-restricted IL-2-activated killer T cells. In contrast, alloantigen-induced T cell proliferation, soluble CD25 release, and the subsequent development of CTL were all inhibited by anti-CD28 mAb. Moreover, alloantigen-induced proliferative response of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was inhibited by anti-CD28 without affecting the cytolytic effect of CTL. Because valency of anti-CD28 binding has been implicated as an important factor in signal transduction, this was explored in the allogeneic MLR by using Fab and F(ab')2 fragments of anti-CD28 mAb and anti-mouse kappa mAb. The inhibitory effect of anti-CD28 mAb in the MLR was reversed by cross-linking of anti-CD28 mAb with anti-mouse kappa mAb. In addition, cross-linking of the CD28 molecule on alloactivated T lymphoblasts but not that on resting T cells with anti-CD28 and anti-mouse kappa induced their proliferation in the absence of the priming alloantigen. These results indicate that stimulatory or inhibitory signals delivered through the CD28 molecule are determined by the degree of cross-linking of this molecule. In addition, these results also suggest that Ag-induced CD3-TCR-mediated T cell responses are more dependent on signals delivered through the CD28 molecule than those induced with anti-CD3, and thus these results have implications for potential use of anti-CD28 in sustained propagation of Ag-specific T cells.