Cellular events during memory T-cell activation in vitro: the UCHL1 (180,000 MW) determinant is newly synthesized...

After T-cell activation, a switch of leucocyte common antigen (LCA) expression occurs which is detected by the disappearance of CD45R and the appearance of UCHL1 positivity. Upon activation of CD45R+ T cells by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) develops at 15 hr and blast cells enter the S phase at 20 hr, while remaining UCHL1-. At 40 hr, mitotic cells continue to express CD45R determinants, but weak UCHL1 reactivity is now detectable on 15-20% of these cells. By inhibiting the separation of daughter cells with cytochalasin B, it can be demonstrated that the UCHL1 antigen is newly synthesized in the Golgi apparatus before insertion into the membrane after the first mitosis. At 65 hr after activation, 80% of proliferating cells are UCHL1+. T cells undergo a similar development during allogeneic activation, and specific alloresponsive cells, tested in secondary mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR), become greatly enriched among the proliferating UCHL1+ cells. Conversely, after a primary MLR, residual CD45R+ T cells are unresponsive to the original stimulus but can still proliferate in response to unrelated alloantigens. These results clarify both the time-course of the acquisition of UCHL1 antigen during the proliferative cycle of activated T cells, and indicate the shift of antigen responsive T-cell populations from the CD45R+ to the UCHL1+ pool.