Th cells and Th2 responses can develop in the absence of MHC class II-CD4 interactions

In this paper, we address the question whether CD4 and MHC class II expression are necessary for the development of the T helper lineage during thymocyte maturation and for activation-induced Th2 responses. To bypass the CD4-MHC class II interaction requirements for positive selection and activation, we used mice that are doubly transgenic for CD8 and for the MHC class I-restricted TCR F5. This transgene combination leads to MHC class I-dependent maturation of CD4 lineage cells. Upon activation, these CD4 lineage T cells secrete IL-4 and give help to B cells but show no cytotoxic activity. Remarkably, neither MHC class II nor CD4 expression are necessary for the generation and helper functions of these cells. This suggests that under normal conditions, coreceptor-MHC interactions are necessary to ensure the canonical combinations of coreceptor and function in developing thymocytes, but that they do not determine functional commitment. Our results also imply that expression of the CD4 gene does not influence, but is merely associated with the decision to establish the T helper program. In addition, we show that activation through TCR-MHC class I interactions can induce Th2 responses independently of CD4 and MHC class II expression.