Role of CD26 for CD4 memory T cell function and activation

CD26 is a 110 kDa T cell activation antigen and has been shown to have DPPIV enzyme activity which cleaves amino-terminal dipeptides with either L-proline or L-alanine at the penultimate position. Recent studies showed that CD26 plays an integral role in T cell activation. A partial explanation of the mechanism of CD26 mediated T cell signaling appears to be its association with CD45 tyrosine phosphatase, which may be importance in T cell activation and signal transduction. In addition, we showed that CD26 is a receptor for adenosine deaminase (ADA). Moreover, ADA on the cell surface is involved in an important immunoregulatory mechanism by which released ADA binds to cell surface CD26 and this complex is capable of reducing the local concentration of adenosine. Thus, CD26 is a multifunctional molecule controlling many key aspects of lymphocyte function.