Superantigen SEA antagonizes inhibitory effect of imatinib on T cell activation

AIM：To investigate the effects of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) on the inhibition of T lymphocyte activation induced by imatinib mesylate (IM). METHODS：Jurkat cells were stimulated with SEA (2 mg/L) and IM (5 nmol/L) for 24 h. The mRNA expression of CD3ε and ζ chains was measured by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The protein levels of CD3ε and ζ chains were detected by Western blotting. RESULTS：The expression of CD3ε and ζ chains at mRNA and protein levels was down-regulated in the Jurkat cells stimulated by IM alone. These down-regulations of CD3ε and ζ chains were reversed by the stimulation of IM combined with SEA. The antagonistic effect of SEA on IM-mediated inhibition of CD3ε mRNA expression was significantly greater than that on CD3ζ mRNA. CONCLUSION:SEA antagonizes imatinib-mediated inhibitory effect on T cell activation.