title: Activation of the T-cell receptor signaling pathway by Nef from an aggressive strain of simian immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: The Nef from a highly virulent strain of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), SIVpbj14, and a Nef from the traditional strain SIVmac239 bearing the mutation from RQ to YE (YE-Nef) both induce an acute lethal disease in monkeys. The YE mutation and its surrounding sequence resemble the immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM), which is present in the cytoplasmic tail of T- and B-cell antigen receptors and mediates signaling during lymphocyte activation. We show here that the ITAM from YE-Nef performs the same function. First, not only does YE-Nef increase the activity of the transcription factor NFAT, which is one of the downstream targets of T-cell activation, but the ITAM from the YE-Nef by itself also activates NFAT. Second, the ITAM from YE-Nef is phosphorylated on tyrosine residues by Lck and associates with ZAP-70, a T-cell-specific tyrosine kinase. The phosphorylation of both conserved tyrosine residues on the ITAM is required for the recruitment of ZAP-70. Finally, Lck is required for the activation of NFAT by YE-Nef. These results demonstrate that YE-Nef contains a functional ITAM and elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of SIVpbj14.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at San Francisco, 94143-0703, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Peterlin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019556:COS Cells; D015693:Gene Products, nef / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D019860:Lymphocyte Specific Protein Tyrosine Kinase p56(lck); D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000378:metabolism*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism; D051746:ZAP-70 Protein-Tyrosine Kinase
chemical_list: D015693:Gene Products, nef; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D014443:Tyrosine; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D019860:Lymphocyte Specific Protein Tyrosine Kinase p56(lck); D051746:ZAP-70 Protein-Tyrosine Kinase; C497261:ZAP70 protein, human