Cloned T helper cells reverting to a resting state develop increasing sensitivity in their antigen-mediated...

A cloned murine T cell line, KIII5, specific for the polypeptide poly-L(Tyr,Glu)-poly-D,L-Ala--poly-L-Lys [(T,G)-A--L] was compared at different stages after antigenic stimulation with respect to the conditions required for the reinduction of growth by varying concentrations of antigen presented on different types of accessory cells (AC). We show that the dose of antigen necessary for inducing half maximal proliferation in the presence of splenic AC shifts to considerably lower concentrations when the T cell blasts revert to a resting state (100 micrograms/ml on day 7 to 10 micrograms/ml on day 21-35). During the same time period the expression of interleukin 2 (IL2) receptor and the reactivity to IL2 decline. However, no direct correlation between the increasing sensitivity to antigen and the decreasing reactivity to IL2 appears to exist. With peritoneal AC "early" T cells (day 7) did not respond to (T,G)-A--L at all, but in the course of "aging" responsiveness increased and finally reached the same level as in the presence of splenic AC, although at a higher antigen dose (100 micrograms/ml on day 35-45). Furthermore, the antigen-induced proliferation of "aging" T cells became more resistant to inhibition both by anti-L3T4 and anti-T cell receptor antibodies. Two alternative interpretations of these data are possible: antigen-activated T cells, while gradually reverting to a resting state, interact more avidly with antigen-presenting cells or the triggering threshold of the T cells is decreasing.