title: Involvement of CRAF1, a relative of TRAF, in CD40 signaling.
abstract: CD40 is a receptor on the surface of B lymphocytes, the activation of which leads to B cell survival, growth, and differentiation. A yeast two-hybrid screen identified a gene, CRAF1, encoding a protein that interacts directly with the CD40 cytoplasmic tail through a region of similarity to the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) receptor-associated factors. Overexpression of a truncated CRAF1 gene inhibited CD40-mediated up-regulation of CD23. A region of CRAF1 was similar to the TNF-alpha receptor-associated factors TRAF1 and TRAF2 and so defined a shared TRAF-C domain that was necessary and sufficient for CD40 binding and homodimerization. The CRAF1 sequence also predicted a long amphipathic helix, a pattern of five zinc fingers, and a zinc ring finger. It is likely that other members of the TNF receptor superfamily use CRAF-related proteins in their signal transduction processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lederman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltimore
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism*; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte / Q000378:metabolism*; D019013:CD40 Antigens; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017455:Receptors, IgE / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D047990:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 1; D047992:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 2; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3; D015854:Up-Regulation; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; D019013:CD40 Antigens; D011506:Proteins; D017455:Receptors, IgE; D047990:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 1; D047992:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 2; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3