Apoptotic cells actively inhibit the expression of CD69 on Con A activated T lymphocytes

Although apoptosis is commonly viewed as a silent cell death without damage to adjacent tissues, the effect of apoptosis on immunity has been unclear. We have investigated the influence of apoptotic cells on T-cell activation. The K562 or HL-60 human leukemia cell lines that had been induced apoptosis by FTY720 or cycloheximide (CHX) were added into the culture of mouse spleen cells stimulated with Con A. Six to 20 h later, the expression of CD69, an early T-cell activation antigen, was detected using flowcytometry. Living cells and necrotic cells served as control groups. Apoptotic K562 or HL-60 cells induced by either FTY720 or CHX unanimously inhibited CD69 expression on the CD3+ mouse T cells while living and necrotic cells did not. The inhibition was proportional to the number of apoptotic cells and was different in the T-cell subsets, showing a rapid and transient inhibition on the CD3+CD8+ T-cell activation but with a slow and continuous inhibition on CD3+CD8- T-cell activation. In conclusion, the apoptotic cells actively inhibit a T-cell activation that is independent of the cell lines or the apoptotic inducers, indicating that the apoptotic cells dominantly regulate T-cell immunity.