Comparison of phorbol ester/calcium ionophore and phytohemagglutinin-induced signaling in human T lymphocytes. Demonstration of interleukin 2-independent transferrin receptor gene expression

The proliferation of human T lymphocytes is regulated, in part, by the coordinated expression of genes encoding T cell growth factor (interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-2 receptors, and transferring receptors (TFR). We examined the time course of accumulation of mRNA for these genes in T cells stimulated with the phorbol ester, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB) and the calcium ionophore, ionomycin, and compared their expression to T cells stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. In cells treated with PDB/ionomycin, maximum expression was observed at 3 hr for IL-2 mRNA and at 6 hr for TFR mRNA, whereas the level of IL-2 receptor mRNA reached a peak 24 to 48 hr after stimulation. In phytohemagglutinin-stimulated T cells IL-2 mRNA was detectable within 3 hr but peaked later at 12 hr; the level of IL-2 receptor mRNA similarly peaked 24 to 48 hr later. Accumulation of TFR mRNA in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated T cells, however, was not detectable at 6 hr and reached a peak only between 12 to 24 hr. The early accumulation of TFR mRNA in PDB/ionomycin-stimulated T cells seemed, in part, independent of the interaction of IL-2 with its own receptor, because TFR mRNA was detectable as early as 1 hr after stimulation and addition of cycloheximide before addition of PDB/ionomycin did not abolish the PDB/ionomycin-induced accumulation of TFR mRNA. In addition, either PDB or ionomycin used alone induced the expression of TFR mRNA but not IL-2 mRNA. These results indicated that the combination of PDB/ionomycin accelerated the expression of IL-2 and TFR genes in T cells compared to phytohemagglutinin and triggered an IL-2-independent pathway for the induction of TFR mRNA.