TID1, a mammalian homologue of the drosophila tumor suppressor lethal(2) tumorous imaginal discs, regulates activation-induced cell death in Th2 cells

We previously described two human DnaJ proteins, hTid-1_L and hTid-1_S, which are derived from alternative splicing of the TID1 gene, the human homologue of the Drosophila tumor suppressor lethal(2) tumorous imaginal discs, and showed that hTid-1_L promoted while hTid-1 _S antagonized apoptosis. There are two subsets of helper T cells, Th1 and Th2, of which Th2 cells are significantly less prone to apoptosis induced by stimulation through the T-cell receptor. This apoptotic process is known as activation-induced cell death (AICD). The molecular basis for the differential susceptibility of Th1 and Th2 cells to AICD is not known. Here we show that the antiapoptotic variant, Tid-1_S, is selectively induced in murine Th2 cells following activation. Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of hTid-1_S in a Th2 cell line strikingly enhanced activation of caspase 3 in response to CD3 stimulation, and caused the cells to become sensitive to AICD. Hence, the accumulation of Tid-1_S in Th2 cells following activation represents a novel mechanism that may contribute to the induction of apoptosis resistance during the activation of Th2 cells.