title: PYPAF1, a PYRIN-containing Apaf1-like protein that assembles with ASC and regulates activation of NF-kappa B.
abstract: The PYRIN domain is a recently identified protein-protein interaction domain that is found at the N terminus of several proteins thought to function in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways. We report here that PYPAF1 (PYRIN-containing Apaf1-like protein 1) is a novel PYRIN-containing signaling protein that belongs to the nucleotide-binding site/leucine-rich repeat (NBS/LRR) family of signaling proteins. The expression of PYPAF1 is highly restricted to immune cells, and its gene maps to chromosome 1q44, a locus that is associated with the rare inflammatory diseases Muckle-Wells syndrome and familial cold urticaria. To identify downstream signaling partners of PYPAF1, we performed a mammalian two-hybrid screen and identified ASC as a PYRIN-containing protein that interacts selectively with the PYRIN domain of PYPAF1. When expressed in cells, ASC recruits PYPAF1 to distinct cytoplasmic loci and induces the activation of NF-kappaB. Furthermore, coexpression of PYPAF1 with ASC results in a potent synergistic activation of NF-kappaB. These findings suggest that PYPAF1 and ASC function as upstream activators of NF-kappaB signaling.
authors.affiliation: Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Gulam A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Manji
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Brad J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Geddes
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merriam
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Garawi
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lora
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Briskin
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jurman
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: DiStefano
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bertin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D000071199:NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein; C453881:NLRP3 protein, human; C402202:PYCARD protein, human