Naive T cells are resistant to anergy induction by anti-CD3 antibodies

Anti-CD3 mAbs are potent immunosuppressive agents used in clinical transplantation. It has been generally assumed that one of the anti-CD3 mAb-mediated tolerance mechanisms is through the induction of naive T cell unresponsiveness, often referred to as anergy. We demonstrate in this study that naive T cells stimulated by anti-CD3 mAbs both in vivo and in vitro do not respond to the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin B nor to soluble forms of anti-CD3 mAbs and APC, but express increased reactivity to plastic-coated forms of the same anti-CD3 mAbs and to their nominal Ag/class II MHC, a finding that is difficult to rationalize with the concept of anergy. Phenotypic and detailed kinetic studies further suggest that a strong signal I delivered by anti-CD3 mAbs in the absence of costimulatory molecules does not lead to anergy, but rather induces naive T cells to change their mitogen responsiveness and acquire features of memory T cells. In marked contrast, Ag-experienced T cells are sensitive to anergy induction under the same experimental settings. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that exposure of naive T cells in vivo and in vitro to a strong TCR stimulus does not induce Ag unresponsiveness, indicating that sensitivity to negative signaling through TCR/CD3 triggering is developmentally regulated in CD4(+) T cells.