Functional consequences of the interaction between T-cell antigen receptors and Fc gamma Rs on T cells.

Two series of experiments are presented indicating that Fc gamma II receptors can interfere with the antigen receptor-induced signaling on T cells. It has been previously described that a 13 amino acid motif on the cytoplasmic portion of Fc gamma II beta 1 can abrogate the antigen receptor-initiated signals mediated through consensus motifs present on the cytoplasmic portion of Ig alpha and Ig beta chains. Similar activating motifs are crucial to T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. A splenic gamma/delta T-cell hybridoma that expressed the Fc gamma RII beta 1 receptor helped to establish that this receptor can also interfere with TCR-induced activation. The cytoplasmic portion of human Fc gamma RIIa has an activation motif similar to the activation motifs present on the TCR. Using a transgenic mouse in which the T cells express the human Fc gamma RIIa transgene, we demonstrated that despite the common activation motif, the TCR and human Fc gamma RIIa-induced signals are different. Additionally, the human Fc gamma RIIa expressing T cells exhibit an enhanced TCR response both in vitro and in vivo.