The phosphoinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway has been implicated in a range of T lymphocyte cellular functions, particularly growth, proliferation, cytokine secretion, and survival. Dysregulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent signaling and function in leukocytes, including B and T lymphocytes, has been implicated in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. As befits a pivotal signaling cascade, several mechanisms exist to ensure that the pathway is tightly regulated. This minireview focuses on two lipid phosphatases, viz. the 3 -phosphatase PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) and SHIP (Src homology 2 domain-containing inositol-5-phosphatase). We discuss their role in regulating T lymphocyte signaling as well their potential as future therapeutic targets.The PI3K 3 pathway plays a central role in regulating many biological processes, primarily via the generation of the potent second messenger PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 , which acts as a docking site at the plasma membrane, recruiting and activating proteins containing pleckstrin homology (PH) domains (1). These downstream PI3K effectors include PDK-1 (3Ј-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1), which phosphorylates and activates the AGC protein kinases, including protein kinase B/Akt. Other kinases such as Tec family kinases can also interact directly with PtdIns(3,4,5)P 3 , as can GTPase-activating proteins and guanine nucleotide exchange factors as well as scaffolding proteins that nucleate the assembly of key signaling complexes (1, 2).
PI3K and T LymphocytesT cells express all three class 1A PI3K isoforms (p110␣, p110, and p110␦), which are regulated by protein-tyrosine kinase-coupled receptors, as well as class 1B p110␥, which is activated by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The T cell antigen receptor (TCR), CD28 family co-stimulatory receptors, and cytokine receptors activate class 1A isoforms (3). Chemokines (by virtue of interacting with GPCRs), activate mainly class 1B PI3K (4). Use of pharmacological tools in leukemic human T cell lines first indicated a possible role for PI3K in T cell activation (5). Mice with a knock-in point mutation of p110␦ that abolishes kinase activity exhibit selective impairments in TCR signaling and reduced proliferation in vitro (6) and impaired function of CD4 ϩ CD25 ϩ Foxp3 ϩ T Reg cells (7). Interestingly, mice lacking both p110␥ and p110␦ show much more profound defects in thymocyte development and survival compared with mice lacking individual isoforms, indicating that these isoforms serve partially redundant functions in thymocytes (8, 9). Pathological consequences of combined p110␥␦ deficiency includes T cell lymphopenia, which leads to multiple-organ inflammation (10). Surprisingly, mice with T cellspecific loss of class 1A PI3K exhibit largely normal thymocyte development, and peripheral T cell numbers and subsets are unimpaired in young animals (11,12). In vitro proliferation of T cells from these mice in response to TCR ligation is abrogated, and there is complete loss of PI3K sig...