Protein-tyrosine kinase and protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) activities are essential for T-cell antigen receptor-mediated signaling. To assess the functional consequences of alteration of the levels of tyrosine phosphorylation in normal human T cells, the effects of vanadate and hydrogen peroxide were studied. In combination, these agents induced tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular substrates, elevated cytosolic free calcium, and induced interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) alpha chain expression but not IL-2 secretion. However, anti-CD28 antibody in combination with vanadate and hydrogen peroxide induced IL-2 secretion, consistent with the requirement for a costimulatory signal in the induction of this gene. The effects of vanadate and hydrogen peroxide were enhanced in the absence of the T-cell PTPase, CD45. Thus, acute pharmacologic manipulation of the level of tyrosine phosphorylation in normal T cells correlates with partial, but not full, activation of these cells; in concert with a costimulatory signal provided by perturbation of the CD28 molecule, the complete program of activation is initiated. These agents should prove useful in dissecting signaling pathways involved in the regulation of genes critical to the immune response.