Autologous regulation of naive T cell homeostasis within the T cell compartment

Naive T cells undergo spontaneous slow proliferation on adoptive transfer into syngeneic T cell (T)-deficient hosts. Recent work has shown that such "homeostatic" T cell proliferation is driven by MHC molecules loaded with self-peptides rather than foreign peptides. Because naive T cells in normal T-sufficient hosts remain in interphase despite continuous contact with self-MHC/peptide ligands, T cells apparently inhibit homeostatic proliferation of neighboring T cells. To address this, we have investigated the requirements necessary for "bystander" T cells to inhibit homeostatic proliferation of other T cells. Three key findings are reported. First, homeostatic proliferation of T cells only occurs in specific microenvironments, namely the T cell compartment of the secondary lymphoid tissues. Second, direct entry into T cell compartments is also required for bystander inhibition of homeostatic proliferation. Third, bystander inhibition is mediated largely by naive rather than activated/memory T cells and does not require proliferation or TCR ligation. These findings suggest that homeostasis of naive T cells is unlikely to be regulated through competition for systemic soluble factors or for specific stimulatory self-MHC/peptide ligands. Rather, the data favor mechanisms that involve competition for local non-MHC stimulatory factors or direct cell-to-cell interactions between the T cells themselves within the T cell compartment.