Biochemical and genetic evidence for a SAP-PKC-θ interaction contributing to IL-4 regulation

JL Cannons, JZ Wu, J Gomez-Rodriguez… - The Journal of …, 2010 - journals.aai.org
JL Cannons, JZ Wu, J Gomez-Rodriguez, J Zhang, B Dong, Y Liu, S Shaw, KA Siminovitch…
The Journal of Immunology, 2010journals.aai.org
Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein (SAP), an adaptor molecule
that recruits Fyn to the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) family of
immunomodulatory receptors, is mutated in X-linked lymphoproliferative disease. CD4+ T
cells from SAP-deficient mice have defective TCR-induced and follicular Th cell IL-4
production and impaired T cell-mediated help for germinal center formation; however, the
downstream intermediates contributing to these defects remain unclear. We previously …
Abstract
Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein (SAP), an adaptor molecule that recruits Fyn to the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) family of immunomodulatory receptors, is mutated in X-linked lymphoproliferative disease. CD4+ T cells from SAP-deficient mice have defective TCR-induced and follicular Th cell IL-4 production and impaired T cell-mediated help for germinal center formation; however, the downstream intermediates contributing to these defects remain unclear. We previously found that SAP-deficient CD4+ T cells exhibit decreased protein kinase C (PKC)-θ recruitment upon TCR stimulation. We demonstrate in this paper using GST pulldowns and coimmunoprecipitation studies that SAP constitutively associates with PKC-θ in T cells. SAP–PKC-θ interactions required R78 of SAP, a residue previously implicated in Fyn recruitment, yet SAP’s interactions with PKC-θ occurred independent of phosphotyrosine binding and Fyn. Overexpression of SAP in T cells increased and sustained PKC-θ recruitment to the immune synapse and elevated IL-4 production in response to TCR plus SLAM-mediated stimulation. Moreover, PKC-θ, like SAP, was required for SLAM-mediated increases in IL-4 production, and, conversely, membrane-targeted PKC-θ mutants rescued IL-4 expression in SAP−/− CD4+ T cells, providing genetic evidence that PKC-θ is a critical component of SLAM/SAP-mediated pathways that influence TCR-driven IL-4 production.
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