BAFF induces spleen CD4+ T cell proliferation by down-regulating phosphorylation of FOXO3A and activates cyclin D2 and D3 expression

► Firstly analyze the mechanism of BAFF and anti-CD3 co-stimulation on purified mouse splenic CD4+ T cells. ► Carrying out siRNA technology to study FOXO3A protein function. ► Helpful to understand the T cell especially CD4+ T cell‘s role in immunological reaction. The TNF ligand family member “B cell-activating factor belonging to the TNF family” (BAFF, also called BLyS, TALL-1, zTNF-4, and THANK) is an important survival factor for B and T cells. In this study, we show that BAFF is able to induce CD4+ spleen T cell proliferation when co-stimulated with anti-CD3. Expression of phosphorylated FOXO3A was notably down-regulated and cyclins D2 and D3 were up-regulated and higher in the CD4+ T cells when treated with BAFF and anti-CD3, as assessed by Western blotting. Furthermore, after FOXO3A was knocked down, expression of cyclin D1 was unchanged, compared with control group levels, but the expression of cyclins D2 and D3 increased, compared with the control group. In conclusion, our results suggest that BAFF induced CD4+ spleen T cell proliferation by down-regulating the phosphorylation of FOXO3A and then activating cyclin D2 and D3 expression, leading to CD4+ T cell proliferation.