EFFECTS OF VECTOR-AVERAGED GRAVITY ON THE RESPONSE TO DIFFERENT STIMULATORY SIGNALS IN T-CELLS

摘要

In this study, we investigated the influence of several combinations of activators on the stimulation of purified T-Lymphocytes under vector-averaged gravity generated by the random positioning machine (RPM). Our results show that anti-CD3 antibody in combination with either anti-CD28 or Interleukin-2 (IL-2) acted favourably on the proliferation independently of gravity conditions. It was observed that proliferation in the RPM samples only decreased if the combination of activators included the lectins Concanavalin A (Con A) or Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in combination with anti-CD28. In these samples, we further found a clear deficit in the upregulation of c-fos, IL-2 and the α-subunit of the IL-2 receptor (IL-2Rα). Our results suggest that attenuation in T-cell activation is most likely due to a reduced expression and induction of early stimulatory factors, and is activator-dependent.