Increased Protein Stability and Interleukin-2 Production of a LAT(G131D)Variant With Possible Implications for T Cell Anergy

The adaptor LAT plays a crucial role in the transduction of signals coming from the TCR/CD3 complex. Phosphorylation of some of its tyrosines generates recruitment sites for other cytosolic signaling molecules. Tyrosine 132 in human LAT is essential for PLC-gamma activation and calcium influx generation. It has been recently reported that a conserved glycine residue preceding tyrosine 132 decreases its phosphorylation kinetics, which constitutes a mechanism for ligand discrimination. Here we confirm that a LAT mutant in which glycine 131 has been substituted by an aspartate (LAT(G131D)) increases phosphorylation of Tyr132, PLC-gamma activation and calcium influx generation. Interestingly, the LAT(G131D)mutant has a slower protein turnover while being equally sensitive to Fas-mediated protein cleavage by caspases. Moreover, J.CaM2 cells expressing LAT(G131D)secrete greater amounts of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in response to CD3/CD28 engagement. However, despite this increased IL-2 secretion, J.CaM2 cells expressing the LAT(G131D)mutant are more sensitive to inhibition of IL-2 production by pre-treatment with anti-CD3, which points to a possible role of this residue in the generation of anergy. Our results suggest that the increased kinetics of LAT Tyr132 phosphorylation could contribute to the establishment of T cell anergy, and thus constitutes an earliest known intracellular event responsible for the induction of peripheral tolerance

A Novel, LAT/Lck Double Deficient T Cell Subline J.CaM1.7 for Combined Analysis of Early TCR Signaling

Intracellular signaling through the T cell receptor (TCR) is essential for T cell development and function. Proper TCR signaling requires the sequential activities of Lck and ZAP-70 kinases, which result in the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues located in the CD3 ITAMs and the LAT adaptor, respectively. LAT, linker for the activation of T cells, is a transmembrane adaptor protein that acts as a scaffold coupling the early signals coming from the TCR with downstream signaling pathways leading to cellular responses. The leukemic T cell line Jurkat and its derivative mutants J.CaM1.6 (Lck deficient) and J.CaM2 (LAT deficient) have been widely used to study the first signaling events upon TCR triggering. In this work, we describe the loss of LAT adaptor expression found in a subline of J.CaM1.6 cells and analyze cis-elements responsible for the LAT expression defect. This new cell subline, which we have called J.CaM1.7, can re-express LAT adaptor after Protein Kinase C (PKC) activation, which suggests that activation-induced LAT expression is not affected in this new cell subline. Contrary to J.CaM1.6 cells, re-expression of Lck in J.CaM1.7 cells was not sufficient to recover TCR-associated signals, and both LAT and Lck had to be introduced to recover activatory intracellular signals triggered after CD3 crosslinking. Overall, our work shows that the new LAT negative J.CaM1.7 cell subline could represent a new model to study the functions of the tyrosine kinase Lck and the LAT adaptor in TCR signaling, and their mutual interaction, which seems to constitute an essential early signaling event associated with the TCR/CD3 complex.This research was funded by Consejeria de Salud de Andalucia, Junta de Andalucia (grant PI-0055-2017 to E.A.), and Fundacion Biomedica Cadiz Proyectos INIBICA 2019 (grant LI19/I14NCO15 to E.A. and M.M.A.-E.)

Non-T cell activation linker (NTAL) proteolytic cleavage as a terminator of activatory intracellular signals.

Non-T cell activation linker is an adaptor protein that is tyrosine phosphorylated upon cross-linking of immune receptors expressed on B lymphocytes, NK cells, macrophages, basophils, or mast cells, allowing the recruitment of cytosolic mediators for downstream signaling pathways. Fas receptor acts mainly as a death receptor, and when cross-linked with Fas ligand, many proteins are proteolytically cleaved, including several signaling molecules in T and B cells. Fas receptor triggering also interferes with TCR intracellular signals, probably by means of proteolytic cleavage of several adaptor proteins. We have previously found that the adaptor linker for activation of T cells, evolutionarily related to non-T cell activation linker, is cleaved upon proapoptotic stimuli in T lymphocytes and thymocytes, in a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent fashion. Here, we describe non-T cell activation linker proteolytic cleavage triggered in human B cells and monocytes by Fas cross-linking and staurosporine treatment. Non-T cell activation linker is cleaved, producing an N-terminal fragment of ∼22 kDa, and such cleavage is abrogated in the presence of caspase 8/granzyme B and caspase 3 inhibitors. Moreover, we have identified an aspartic acid residue at which non-T cell activation linker is cleaved, which similar to linker for activation of T cells, this aspartic acid residue is located close to tyrosine and serine residues, suggesting an interdependence of phosphorylation and proteolytic cleavage. Consistently, induction of non-T cell activation linker phosphorylation by pervanadate inhibits its cleavage. Interestingly, the truncated isoform of non-T cell activation linker, generated after cleavage, has a decreased signaling ability when compared with the full-length molecule. Altogether, our results suggest that cleavage of transmembrane adaptors constitutes a general mechanism for signal termination of immune receptors

Ultrastructural Localization and Molecular Associations of HCV Capsid Protein in Jurkat T Cells

Hepatitis C virus core protein is a highly basic viral protein that multimerizes with itself to form the viral capsid. When expressed in CD4+ T lymphocytes, it can induce modifications in several essential cellular and biological networks. To shed light on the mechanisms underlying the alterations caused by the viral protein, we have analyzed HCV-core subcellular localization and its associations with host proteins in Jurkat T cells. In order to investigate the intracellular localization of Hepatitis C virus core protein, we have used a lentiviral system to transduce Jurkat T cells and subsequently localize the protein using immunoelectron microscopy techniques. We found that in Jurkat T cells, Hepatitis C virus core protein mostly localizes in the nucleus and specifically in the nucleolus. In addition, we performed pull-down assays combined with Mass Spectrometry Analysis, to identify proteins that associate with Hepatitis C virus core in Jurkat T cells. We found proteins such as NOLC1, PP1γ, ILF3, and C1QBP implicated in localization and/or traffic to the nucleolus. HCV-core associated proteins are implicated in RNA processing and RNA virus infection as well as in functions previously shown to be altered in Hepatitis C virus core expressing CD4+ T cells, such as cell cycle delay, decreased proliferation, and induction of a regulatory phenotype. Thus, in the current work, we show the ultrastructural localization of Hepatitis C virus core and the first profile of HCV core associated proteins in T cells, and we discuss the functions and interconnections of these proteins in molecular networks where relevant biological modifications have been described upon the expression of Hepatitis C virus core protein. Thereby, the current work constitutes a necessary step toward understanding the mechanisms underlying HCV core mediated alterations that had been described in relevant biological processes in CD4+ T cells

A Stretch of Negatively Charged Amino Acids of Linker for Activation of T-Cell Adaptor Has a Dual Role in T-Cell Antigen Receptor Intracellular Signaling

The adaptor protein linker for activation of T cells (LAT) has an essential role transducing activatory intracellular signals coming from the TCR/CD3 complex. Previous reports have shown that upon T-cell activation, LAT interacts with the tyrosine kinase Lck, leading to the inhibition of its kinase activity. LAT–Lck interaction seemed to depend on a stretch of negatively charged amino acids in LAT. Here, we have substituted this segment of LAT between amino acids 113 and 126 with a non-charged segment and expressed the mutant LAT (LAT-NIL) in J.CaM2 cells in order to analyze TCR signaling. Substitution of this segment in LAT prevented the activation-induced interaction with Lck. Moreover, cells expressing this mutant form of LAT showed a statistically significant increase of proximal intracellular signals such as phosphorylation of LAT in tyrosine residues 171 and 191, and also enhanced ZAP70 phosphorylation approaching borderline statistical significance (p = 0.051). Nevertheless, downstream signals such as Ca2+ influx or MAPK pathways were partially inhibited. Overall, our data reveal that LAT–Lck interaction constitutes a key element regulating proximal intracellular signals coming from the TCR/CD3 complex