Glucocorticoids regulate TCR-induced elevation of CD4: functional implications

CD4 serves as a coreceptor during Ag recognition by the TCR. This interaction results in a marked increase in the sensitivity of a T cell to Ag presented by MHC class II molecules. Here we report that activation of T cells either by plate-bound mAb (anti-TCR, anti-CD3) or soluble activators (staphylococcal enterotoxin A, Con A) is associated with an (up to 3-fold) increase in CD4 cell surface expression on CD25+ cells, which was maximal after 72-96 h. Incubation with the glucocorticoid hormone corticosterone (CORT) shifted the enhancement of CD4 expression to a point about 24 h earlier than that observed in control cultures. In parallel, the proliferative response of these CORT-treated cells was profoundly enhanced. An involvement of increased CD4 expression in this enhanced proliferative response was evidenced by the observation that T cell proliferation in CORT-treated cultures was much less sensitive to inhibition by an inhibitory, nondepleting anti-CD4 mAb than that in control cultures. TCR down-regulation was, however, not affected by CORT. Thus, based on this study and previous reports we propose that both TCR-mediated signals and glucocorticoids are important physiological regulators of CD4 expression. In addition, these findings may be of significance for the sensitivity of CD4+ cells to HIV infection upon T cell activation, as the efficacy of primary patient HIV entry depends on the level of surface CD4.