Premium
Sub‐mitogenic phorbol myristate acetate co‐stimulation rescues the PHA‐induced activation of both naïve and memory T cells cultured in the rotating‐wall vessel bioreactor
Author(s) -
Simons Donald M.,
Gardner Elizabeth M.,
Lelkes Peter I.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1016/j.cellbi.2009.04.024
Subject(s) - stimulation , microbiology and biotechnology , t cell , t cell receptor , phorbol , cd8 , t lymphocyte , biology , cytotoxic t cell , receptor , chemistry , immune system , immunology , biochemistry , signal transduction , in vitro , protein kinase c , endocrinology
T lymphocytes are unresponsive to T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation during culture in spaceflight or ground‐based microgravity analogs such as the rotating‐wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor. The TCR‐induced activation of a subset of T cells can be rescued in the RWV by co‐stimulation with sub‐mitogenic doses of phorbol ester (PMA). We report that PMA co‐stimulation of primary human T cells cultured in the RWV rescues the phytohemagglutinin (PHA)‐induced activation of the CD8 + and CD4 + T cell subsets as well as naïve and memory CD4 + T cells. Importantly, T cells activated in the RWV by PHA + PMA contained these subsets in proportions strikingly similar to control cultures activated with PHA alone. The data indicate that rescuing T cell activation with PMA co‐stimulation does not significantly perturb the heterogeneity of the responding cells, and represent an important proof of principle for the design of immune‐boosting agents for use in spaceflight.