Veronika Groh

Stress-inducible MICA, a distant homolog of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, functions as an antigen for gammadelta T cells and is frequently expressed in epithelial tumors. A receptor for MICA was detected on most gammadelta T cells, CD8+ alphabeta T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells and was identified as NKG2D. Effector cells from all these subsets could be stimulated by ligation of NKG2D. Engagement of NKG2D activated cytolytic responses of gammadelta T cells and NK cells against transfectants and epithelial tumor cells expressing MICA. These results define an activating immunoreceptor-MHC ligand interaction that may promote antitumor NK and T cell responses.

T cells with variable region Vdelta1 gammadelta T cell receptors (TCRs) are distributed throughout the human intestinal epithelium and may function as sentinels that respond to self antigens. The expression of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related molecule, MICA, matches this localization. MICA and the closely related MICB were recognized by intestinal epithelial T cells expressing diverse Vdelta1 gammadelta TCRs. These interactions involved the alpha1alpha2 domains of MICA and MICB but were independent of antigen processing. With intestinal epithelial cell lines, the expression and recognition of MICA and MICB could be stress-induced. Thus, these molecules may broadly regulate protective responses by the Vdelta1 gammadelta T cells in the epithelium of the intestinal tract.

Human MHC class I-related molecules, MICA and MICB, are stress-induced antigens that are recognized by a subset of γδ T cells expressing the variable region V δ 1. This functional association has been found to be limited to intestinal epithelium, where these T cells are prevalent and where MICA and, presumably, MICB are mainly expressed. However, increased frequencies of V δ 1 γδ T cells have been observed in various epithelial tumors; moreover, MICA/B are expressed on diverse cultured epithelial tumor cells. With freshly isolated tumor specimens, expression of MICA/B was documented in many, but not all, carcinomas of the lung, breast, kidney, ovary, prostate, and colon. In tumors that were positive for MICA/B, the frequencies of V δ 1 γδ T cells were significantly higher than in those that were negative. V δ 1 γδ T cell lines and clones derived from different tumors recognized MICA/B on autologous and heterologous tumor cells. In accord with previous evidence, no constraints were observed in these interactions, such as those imposed by specific peptide ligands. Thus, MICA/B are tumor-associated antigens that can be recognized, in an apparently unconditional manner, by a subset of tumor-infiltrating γδ T cells. These results raise the possibility that an induced expression of MICA/B, by conditions that may be related to tumor homeostasis and growth, could play a role in immune responses against tumors.

Conventional major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes encode molecules that present intracellular peptide antigens to T cells. They are ubiquitously expressed and regulated by interferon gamma. Two highly divergent human MHC class I genes, MICA and MICB, are regulated by promoter heat shock elements similar to those of HSP70 genes. MICA encodes a cell surface glycoprotein, which is not associated with beta 2-microglobulin, is conformationally stable independent of conventional class I peptide ligands, and almost exclusively expressed in gastrointestinal epithelium. Thus, this MHC class I molecule may function as an indicator of cell stress and may be recognized by a subset of gut mucosal T cells in an unusual interaction.