The 5 -phosphoinositol phosphatase SHIP negatively regulates signaling pathways triggered by antigen, cytokine and Fc receptors in both lymphocytes and myeloid cells. Mice with germ-line (null) deletion of SHIP develop a myeloproliferative-like syndrome that causes early lethality. Lymphocyte anomalies have been observed in SHIP-null mice, but it is unclear whether they are due to an intrinsic requirement of SHIP in these cells or a consequence of the severe myeloid pathology. To precisely address the function of SHIP in T cells, we have generated mice with T cell-specific deletion of SHIP. In the absence of SHIP, we found no differences in thymic selection or in the activation state and numbers of regulatory T cells in the periphery. In contrast, SHIP-deficient T cells do not skew efficiently to Th2 in vitro. Mice with T cell-specific deletion of SHIP show poor antibody responses on Alum/NP-CGG immunization and diminished Th2 cytokine production when challenged with Schistosoma mansoni eggs. The failure to skew to Th2 responses may be the consequence of increased basal levels of the Th1-associated transcriptional factor T-bet, resulting from enhanced sensitivity to cytokine-mediated T-bet induction. SHIP-deficient CD8 ؉ cells show enhanced cytotoxic responses, consistent with elevated T-bet levels in these cells. Overall our experiments indicate that in T cells SHIP negatively regulates cytokine-mediated activation in a way that allows effective Th2 responses and limits T cell cytotoxicity.cytotoxicity ͉ T-bet T he 5Ј-inositol phosphatase SHIP is a well characterized inhibitory molecule that regulates cell responses in lymphocytes and myeloid cells by its ability to hydrolyze the second messenger PI(3,4,5) trisphosphate (1-4). SHIP is recruited by engagement of the inhibitory Fc receptor in B cells and mast cells (5)(6)(7)(8) or by the engagement of FcRs (Fc RI and Fc␥RIII), cytokine [interleukin 3 (IL3), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and TGF], and growth factor (steel factor and M-CSF) receptors in myeloid cells (2, 9). Once SHIP is recruited to the membrane by the signaling complexes, its enzymatic activity depletes PI(3,4,5)P 3 and prevents membrane localization of PHdomain-containing factors such as Tec kinases, Akt, and PLC␥ (10-13). This inhibitory effect ultimately leads to reduced calcium influx and prevents cellular activation (14).Germ-line deletion of SHIP in mice leads to early mortality from a myeloproliferative-like syndrome characterized by profound splenomegaly and massive myeloid infiltration of the lung (15). B cells develop abnormally in SHIP-null mice, with an activated phenotype and specifically lacking the marginal zone B cell population (16,17). The absence of marginal-zone B cells in SHIP-null mice has been explained not as a B cell primary defect, but as a consequence of macrophage dysregulation in the spleen of these animals (17). Macrophages from SHIP-null mice are skewed toward an M2-activated phenotype showing high levels of arginase I (ArgI) and Ym1. R...