The Pim kinase pathway contributes to survival signaling in primed CD8+ T cells upon CD27 costimulation

Stimulation of the costimulatory receptor CD27 by its ligand CD70 has proved important for the generation of primary and memory CD8(+) T cell responses in various models of antigenic challenge. CD27/CD70-mediated costimulation promotes the survival of primed T cells and thereby increases the size of effector and memory populations. In this paper, we reveal molecular mechanisms underlying the prosurvival effect of CD27. CD27 signaling upregulated expression of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bcl-x(L). However, genetic reconstitution of Cd27(-/-) CD8(+) T cells with Bcl-x(L) alone or in combination with the related protein Mcl-1 did not compensate for CD27 deficiency in the response to influenza virus infection. This suggested that CD27 supports generation of the CD8(+) effector T cell pool not only by counteracting apoptosis via Bcl-2 family members. Genome-wide mRNA expression profiling indicated that CD27 directs expression of the Pim1 gene. Pim-1 is a serine/threonine kinase that sustains survival of rapidly proliferating cells by antiapoptotic and prometabolic effects that are independent of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. In TCR-primed CD8(+) T cells, CD27 could increment Pim-1 protein expression and promote cell survival throughout clonal expansion independent of the mTOR and IL-2R pathways. In addition, introduction of the Pim1 gene in Cd27(-/-) CD8(+) T cells partially corrected their defect in clonal expansion and formation of an effector pool. We conclude that CD27 may contribute to the survival of primed CD8(+) T cells by the upregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members but also calls the Pim-1 kinase survival pathway into action.