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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
T cell receptor-dependent regulation of lipid rafts controls naive CD8+ T cell homeostasis
Jae-Ho Cho1, Hee-Ok Kim, Charles D Surh
1Immunology and Inflammation Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, 384 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010, Australia.
Abstract:
T cell receptor (TCR) contact with self ligands keeps T cells alive and is shown here to cause naive CD8(+), but not CD4(+), T cells to be hypersensitive to certain gamma(c) cytokines, notably interleukin (IL)-2, IL-15, and IL-7. Hypersensitivity of CD8(+) T cells to IL-2 was dependent on a low-level TCR signal, associated with high expression of CD5 and GM1, a marker for lipid rafts, and was abolished by disruption of lipid rafts. By contrast, CD4(+) T cells expressed low amounts of GM1 and were unresponsive to IL-2. Physiologically, sensitivity to IL-7 and IL-15 maintains survival of resting CD8(+) T cells, whereas sensitivity to IL-2 may be irrelevant for normal homeostasis but crucial for the immune response. Thus, TCR contact with antigen upregulates GM1 and amplifies responsiveness of naive CD8(+) T cells to IL-2, thereby making the cells highly sensitive to exogenous IL-2 from CD4(+) T helper cells.
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