CD70 expression on T-cell subpopulations: study of normal individuals and patients with chronic immune activation

CD70, the ligand of CD27, is a member of the TNF family, which includes molecules essential in the regulation of lymphocyte growth and survival. It is absent on resting lymphocytes but can be induced in vitro with activating stimuli. To extend information about its expression by different T-cell subpopulations, and its regulation in normal and pathologic conditions, highly purified T-cell subpopulations were studied: CD70 expression depended both on the activating stimulus and on the T-cell subset analyzed. PMA + Ionomycin induced CD70 on the large majority of CD8+ cells, but only on a minority of CD4+ cells (P < 0.002), and among these, preferentially on the CD45R0+ subset compared with the CD45RA+. The presence of CD4+ lymphocytes in cell cultures containing mixtures of T-cell subsets inhibited CD70 expression on CD8+ cells. On the contrary, stimulation with allogeneic cells induced CD70 expression also on CD4+ cells. Moreover, CD70 was found to be expressed by chronically in vivo activated T-cells, in conditions characterized by allogeneic and autoimmune reactions. These data suggest a possible role of CD70 in the pathogenesis of immune dysregulation; interestingly, this role may not be simply restricted to bind to, and signal through, CD27, since cross-linking of CD70 enhances the proliferative response induced by the stimuli used to elicit its expression.