Cellular cholesterol enrichment impairs T cell activation and chemotaxis

Human aging is associated with an increase in immune cell cholesterol levels, independent of circulating cholesterol levels. The effects of such an increase in membrane cholesterol on lipid raft-associated immune cell function have not been investigated. We sought to examine the effects of in vitro cholesterol loading on two known lipid raft-associated pathways of T cells, namely T cell activation and chemokine stimulation. Using β-cyclodextrin (BCD) as a vehicle, we were able to rapidly load cholesterol onto human T cell lines and primary peripheral blood T cells without inducing significant cell toxicity. Loading of cholesterol to four-fold that of normal levels induced significant inhibition of intracellular calcium mobilization by both αCD3 and SDF-1α. Cholesterol-loaded peripheral T cells were completely unresponsive to αCD3/αCD28 stimulation, demonstrating no increase in IL-2, GM1 expression or cell size. T cell polarization of lipid rafts to αCD3/αCD28 beads was also impaired. In addition, cholesterol loading potently inhibited SDF-1α-induced chemotaxis. We propose that excess membrane cholesterol could potentially disrupt raft-related cell functions downstream of receptor triggering and that the loss of cholesterol regulation of aging immune cells could contribute to immune cell senescence.