Splenic NK1.1-negative, TCRβ intermediate CD4+ T cells exist in naive NK1.1 allelic positive and negative mice, with the capacity to rapidly secrete large amounts of IL-4 and IFN-γ upon primary TCR stimulation

Splenic NK1.1+CD4+ T cells that express intermediate levels of TCRαβ molecules (TCRint) and the DX5 Ag (believed to identify an equivalent population in NK1.1 allelic negative mice) possess the ability to rapidly produce high quantities of immunomodulatory cytokines, notably IL-4 and IFN-γ, upon primary TCR activation in vivo. Indeed, only T cells expressing the NK1.1 Ag appear to be capable of this function. In this study, we demonstrate that splenic NK1.1-negative TCRintCD4+ T cells, identified on the basis of FcγR expression, exist in naive NK1.1 allelic positive (C57BL/6) and negative (C3H/HeN) mice with the capacity to produce large amounts of IL-4 and IFN-γ after only 8 h of primary CD3 stimulation in vitro. Furthermore, a comparison of the amounts of early cytokines produced by FcγR+CD4+TCRint T cells with NK1.1+CD4+ or DX5+CD4+TCRint T cells, simultaneously isolated from C57BL/6 or C3H/HeN mice, revealed strain and population differences. Thus, FcγR defines another subpopulation of splenic CD4+TCRint cells that can rapidly produce large concentrations of immunomodulatory cytokines, suggesting that CD4+TCRint T cells themselves may represent a unique family of immunoregulatory CD4+ T cells whose members include FcγR+CD4+ and NK1.1/DX5+CD4+ T cells.