Partial T cell signaling: Altered phospho-ζ and lack of zap70 recruitment in APL-induced T cell anergy

Studies of T cell responses to altered peptide ligands (APLs) have provided functional evidence that a T cell receptor (TCR) can interpret subtle changes in its ligand, resulting in different phenotypic outcomes. One dramatic effect of APL stimulation with live antigen-presenting cells (APCs) is the induction of anergy as opposed to proliferation. We investigated the intracellular signaling events involved in generating this unresponsiveness by comparing protein-tyrosine phosphorylation patterns after stimulation with anergy-inducing APL or the immunogenic peptide. In resting T cell clones, presentation with APL/live APC stimulated a unique pattern of TCR phospho-ζ species and a subsequent lack of association with zap70. This demonstrates that the TCR-CD3 complex can engage selective intracellular biochemical signaling pathways as a direct consequence of the nature of the ligand recognized and the initial phosphotyrosine pattern of the TCR-CD3 proteins, leading to different phenotypes.