Cutting edge: p27Kip1 deficiency reduces the requirement for CD28-mediated costimulation in naive CD8+ but not CD4+ T lymphocytes.

Cell cycle re-entry of quiescent T cells is dependent upon cyclin-dependent kinase 2. Inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 by p27(Kip1) is believed to be the principal constraint on S-phase entry in T cells. We report that deficiency for p27(Kip1) has a more pronounced effect on the expansion of murine naive CD8(+) T cells and that this disparity is due to a reduced requirement for CD28-mediated costimulation in CD8(+) but not CD4(+) T cells lacking p27(Kip1). These data highlight a previously unappreciated difference in the way CD28 signaling is coupled to the core cell cycle machinery in these two T cell subsets.