Role of T-bet, the master regulator of Th1 cells, in the cytotoxicity of murine CD4+ T cells

Although CD4(+) T cells are generally regarded as helper T cells, some activated CD4(+) T cells have cytotoxic properties. Given that CD4(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) often secrete IFN-, CTL activity among CD4(+) T cells may be attributable to Th1 cells, where a T-box family molecule, T-bet serves as the master regulator. However, although the essential contribution of T-bet to expression of IFN- has been well-documented, it remains unclear whether T-bet is involved in CD4(+) T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. In this study, to investigate the ability of T-bet to confer cytolytic activity on CD4(+) T cells, the T-bet gene (Tbx21) was introduced into non-cytocidal CD4(+) T cell lines and their cytolytic function analyzed. Up-regulation of FasL (CD178), which provided the transfectant with cytotoxicity, was observed in Tbx21transfected CD4(+) T cells but not in untransfected parental cells. In one cell line, T-bet transduction also induced perforin gene (Prf1) expression and Tbx21 transfectants efficiently killed Fas(-) target cells. Although T-bet was found to repress up-regulation of CD40L (CD154), which controls FasL-mediated cytolysis, the extent of CD40L up-regulation on in vitro-differentiated Th1 cells was similar to that on Th2 cells, suggesting the existence of a compensatory mechanism. These results collectively indicate that T-bet may be involved in the expression of genes, such as FasL and Prf1, which confer cytotoxicity on Th1 cells.