Agonist‐induced T cell receptor down‐regulation: molecular requirements and dissociation from T cell activation

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Abstract
T cell receptor (TCR) down‐regulation is a consequence of specific receptor engagement and plays an important role in modulating the T cell response. We have investigated the role of protein kinase C (PKC) and protein tyrosine kinases (PTK) in the induction of TCR down‐regulation. We report that the mutation of S126 in the CD3‐γ chain that is known to inhibit phorbol‐12‐myristate 13‐acetate‐induced TCR down‐regulation does not affect down‐regulation induced by a specific agonist. In addition, agonist‐induced TCR down‐regulation is not affected by blockade or depletion of PKC, neither by blockade or lack of PTK, while the same treatments efficiently interfere with T cell activation. These results demonstrate that TCR down‐regulation is induced by early events which follow specific engagement by an agonist and can be dissociated from those required for full T cell activation.

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