A new murine CD4+ T cell subset with an unrestricted cytokine profile.

Abstract

CD4+ T cell clones were derived from mice immunized to keyhole limpet hemocyanin to characterize the cytokine profiles of newly isolated clones. Surprisingly, several of the clones had an unrestricted profile, producing IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IFN-gamma, and TNF after either Con A or Ag stimulation. The coproduction of IL-2 and IL-4 was confirmed at the mRNA level. Subclones were derived which contained RNA transcripts for, as well as secreted, both IL-2 and IL-4 thus confirming the clonality of the original T cell clones. CD4+ T cell clones that expressed an unrestricted cytokine profile upon Con A stimulation were also isolated from mice immunized to other Ag (hen egg lysozyme, OVA, or type II collagen). These data indicate that CD4+ T cell clones newly isolated from immunized mice do not necessarily segregate into the Th1 and Th2 subsets. We propose this new murine CD4+ cell subset with an unrestricted pattern of cytokine production be called Th0.