Paul J. Leibson

Sequential Involvement of Lck and SHP-1 with MHC-Recognizing Receptors on NK Cells Inhibits FcR-Initiated Tyrosine Kinase Activation

Recognition of major histocompatibility (MHC) class I complexes on target cells by killer cell inhibitory receptors (KIR) blocks natural killer (NK) and T cell cytotoxic function. The inhibitory effect of KIR ligation requires the phosphotyrosine-dependent association of KIR with the cytoplasmic SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1. Using a somatic genetic model, we first define a requirement for the Src family protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) Lck in mediating KIR tyrosine phosphorylation. We then investigate how KIR ligation interrupts PTK-dependent NK cell activation signals. Specifically, we show that KIR ligation inhibits the Fc receptor (FcR)-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the FcR-associated zeta signaling chain, the PTK ZAP-70, and phospholipase C gamma. Overexpression of catalytically inactive SHP-1 (acting as a dominant negative) restores the tyrosine phosphorylation of these signaling events and reverses KIR-mediated inhibition of NK cell cytotoxic function. These results suggest sequential roles for Lck and SHP-1 in the inhibition of PTK following MHC recognition by NK cells.

NKG2D-DAP10 triggers human NK cell-mediated killing via a Syk-independent regulatory pathway.

The immune recognition receptor complex NKG2D-DAP10 on natural killer cells is stimulated by specific ligands carried on virus-infected and malignant cells. Because DAP10 does not have an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in its cytoplasmic tail, its ability to trigger killing has been debated. Here we show that a crucial Tyr-Ile-Asn-Met amino acid motif in the cytoplasmic tail of DAP10 couples receptor stimulation to the downstream activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Vav1, Rho family GTPases and phospholipase C. Unlike that of ITAM-containing receptors, the activation of NKG2D-DAP10 proceeds independently of Syk family protein tyrosine kinases. Yet the signals initiated by NKG2D-DAP10 are fully capable of inducing killing. Our findings identify a previously unknown mechanism by which receptor complexes that lack ITAM motifs can trigger lymphocyte activation.

Signal Transduction during Natural Killer Cell Activation: Inside the Mind of a Killer

Interest in signal transduction during NK cell activation has been spurred by the recognition that novel activating and inhibitory receptors initiate interacting signals that dictate the nature of specialized antimicrobial and antitumor responses. Recent advances in our understanding of these complex signaling processes have been fueled by the molecular characterization of specific activating receptors (e.g., the FcγRIII multisubunit complex, KAR) and inhibitory receptors (e.g., human KIR, human CD94/NKG2, and murine Ly49). However, certain aspects of these analyses are complicated by the heterogeneous nature of the receptor–ligand interactions occurring during the development of a cytotoxic response. Future advances will depend in part on the molecular identification of the involved receptors and second messengers and on the development of experimental models for genetically manipulating the signaling elements. It will remain important to investigate both activating and inhibitory signaling pathways, since the emerging theme is that the balance of these opposing forces determines the functional outcome of an NK cells interaction with its target.

Genetic evidence for differential coupling of Syk family kinases to the T-cell receptor: reconstitution studies in a ZAP-70-deficient Jurkat T-cell line.

ABSTRACT T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) engagement activates multiple protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), including the Src family member, Lck, and the Syk-related PTK, ZAP-70. Studies in ZAP-70-deficient humans have demonstrated that ZAP-70 plays crucial roles in T-cell activation and development. However, progress toward a detailed understanding of the regulation and function of ZAP-70 during TCR signaling has been hampered by the lack of a suitable T-cell model for biochemical and genetic analyses. In this report, we describe the isolation and phenotypic characterization of a Syk- and ZAP-70-negative somatic mutant derived from the Jurkat T-cell line. The P116 cell line displays severe defects in TCR-induced signaling functions, including protein tyrosine phosphorylation, intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, and interleukin-2 promoter-driven transcription. These signaling defects were fully reversed by reintroduction of catalytically active versions of either Syk or ZAP-70 into the P116 cells. However, in contrast to ZAP-70 expression, Syk expression triggered a significant degree of cellular activation in the absence of TCR ligation. Transfection experiments with ZAP-70–Syk chimeric proteins indicated that both the amino-terminal regulatory regions and the carboxy-terminal catalytic domains of Syk and ZAP-70 contribute to the distinctive functional properties of these PTKs. These studies underscore the crucial role of ZAP-70 in TCR signaling and offer a powerful genetic model for further analyses of ZAP-70 regulation and function in T cells.

Vav1 Dephosphorylation by the Tyrosine Phosphatase SHP-1 as a Mechanism for Inhibition of Cellular Cytotoxicity

ABSTRACT Here, we present data suggesting a novel mechanism for regulation of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity through inhibitory receptors. Interaction of activation receptors with their ligands on target cells induces cytotoxicity by NK cells. This activation is under negative control by inhibitory receptors that recruit tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 upon binding major histocompatibility class I on target cells. How SHP-1 blocks the activation pathway is not known. To identify SHP-1 substrates, an HLA-C-specific inhibitory receptor fused to a substrate-trapping mutant of SHP-1 was expressed in NK cells. Phosphorylated Vav1, a regulator of actin cytoskeleton, was the only protein detectably associated with the catalytic site of SHP-1 during NK cell contact with target cells expressing HLA-C. Vav1 trapping was independent of actin polymerization, suggesting that inhibition of cellular cytotoxicity occurs through an early dephosphorylation of Vav1 by SHP-1, which blocks actin-dependent activation signals. Such a mechanism explains how inhibitory receptors can block activating signals induced by different receptors.

Killer Cell Activating Receptors Function as Costimulatory Molecules on CD4+CD28null T Cells Clonally Expanded in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Expansion of CD4+CD28null T cells is a characteristic finding in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite lacking CD28 molecules, these unusual CD4 T cells undergo clonal proliferation and form large and long-lived clonal populations. They produce high levels of IFN-γ, exhibit autoreactivity, and have cytolytic function. The mechanisms facilitating the expansion and longevity of CD4+CD28null T cell clones in vivo are unknown. Here, we report that CD4+CD28null, but not CD4+CD28+, T cells express MHC class I-recognizing receptors normally found on NK cells. CD4+CD28null T cells preferentially expressed killer cell activating receptors (KAR), often in the absence of killer cell inhibitory receptors. Cross-linking of KAR molecules enhanced the proliferative response to TCR-mediated stimulation, but not the cytolytic function of CD4+CD28null T cells, suggesting different signaling pathways in CD4 T cells and NK cells. Triggering of KAR signaling led to the phosphorylation of several cellular targets, although the pattern of phosphorylation differed from that induced by the TCR. Aberrant expression of KAR molecules in the absence of inhibitory receptors and in the appropriate HLA setting may lead to the clonal outgrowth of autoreactive CD4+CD28null T cells commonly seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Natural killer cell activation in mice and men: different triggers for similar weapons?

The signaling pathways that regulate B and T lymphocytes are remarkably conserved between humans and mice. However, recent evidence suggests that the pathways regulating natural killer (NK) cell activation may actually differ between these two species. We discuss the controversies in the field and propose that this divergence could be deceptive: despite some clear differences between human and mouse NK cell receptors, the many ways of activating NK cells and their functions may well be conserved.

ITAMs versus ITIMs: striking a balance during cell regulation

Functional immune responses evolve through an exquisitely controlled process integrating signals from activating and inhibitory receptors on the immune cell surface. These complex interactions, which regulate both the quality and magnitude of the ultimate response, depend crucially on two short, loosely conserved motifs found in the intracellular domain of various signaling proteins. These motifs, termed “ITAMs” and “ITIMs” for immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation (or inhibititory) motifs, provide the basis for two opposed signaling modules that duel for control of cellular activation within the immune system. Well over a decade ago it was observed that the subunits associated with the B cell and T cell antigen

Effects of p56lck deficiency on the growth and cytolytic effector function of an interleukin-2-dependent cytotoxic T-cell line.

The growth, differentiation, and functional activities of antigen-stimulated T lymphocytes are regulated by the interaction of the T-cell-derived cytokine, interleukin-2 (IL-2), with the high-affinity IL-2 receptor (IL-2R). IL-2R occupancy initiates a rapid increase in intracellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting that a receptor-coupled protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) serves as a proximal signaling element for the IL-2R. Previous studies implicated the src-family kinase, p56lck, as a potential IL-2R-linked signal transducer. In this study, we have characterized a spontaneous variant of the IL-2-dependent cytotoxic T-cell line, CTLL-2, which contains no detectable lck-derived mRNA transcripts, protein, or PTK activity. The p56lck-deficient CTLL-2 cells retained strict dependence on IL-2 for both viability and growth, indicating that p56lck activity was not required for the transduction of IL-2-mediated mitogenic signals. However, the p56lck-deficient cells exhibited a moderate decrease in their rate of IL-2-dependent proliferation. In contrast to this relatively modest proliferative defect, the p56lck-deficient cell line displayed a profound reduction in T-cell antigen receptor-dependent cytolytic effector functions. Both the proliferative and the cytolytic defects observed in the p56lck-deficient cells were completely reversed by transfection of these cells with a wild-type lck expression vector. These results indicate that p56lck expression is not obligatory for IL-2-mediated T-cell growth stimulation; however, this PTK plays a central role in the generation T-cell-mediated cytotoxic responses.

SLP-76 Is a Direct Substrate of SHP-1 Recruited to Killer Cell Inhibitory Receptors

Activation of immune system cells via antigen-, Fc-, or natural killer cell-triggering-receptor stimulation is aborted by co-engagement of inhibitory receptors. Negative signaling by killer cell inhibitory receptors and related receptors depends on the Src homology 2 (SH2)-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1. Using a combination of direct binding and functional assays, we demonstrated that the SH2 domain-containing leukocyte protein 76 (SLP-76) is a specific target for dephosphorylation by SHP-1 in T cells and natural killer cells. Furthermore, we showed that tyrosine-phosphorylated SLP-76 is required for optimal activation of cytotoxic lymphocytes, suggesting that the targeted dephosphorylation of SLP-76 by SHP-1 is an important mechanism for the negative regulation of immune cell activation by inhibitory receptors.