title: Differential requirements for Vav proteins in DAP10- and ITAM-mediated NK cell cytotoxicity.
abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells express multiple activating receptors that initiate signaling cascades through DAP10- or immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif-containing adapters, including DAP12 and FcRgamma. Among downstream signaling mediators, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1 carries out a key role in activation. However, whether Vav1 regulates only some or all NK cell-activating pathways is matter of debate. It is also possible that two other Vav family molecules, Vav2 and Vav3, are involved in NK cell activation. Here, we examine the relative contribution of each of these exchange factors to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity using mice lacking one, two, or all three Vav proteins. We found that Vav1 deficiency is sufficient to disrupt DAP10-mediated cytotoxicity, whereas lack of Vav2 and Vav3 profoundly impairs FcRgamma- and DAP12-mediated cytotoxicity. Our results provide evidence that these three Vav proteins function specifically in distinct pathways that trigger NK cell cytotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cella
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujikawa
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tassi
authors.forename: Sunjin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Latinis
authors.forename: Shinzo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Swat
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport / Q000502:physiology; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D051567:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-vav; D017452:Receptors, IgG / Q000502:physiology; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; C492355:Hcst protein, mouse; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051567:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-vav; D017452:Receptors, IgG; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; C484963:Tyrobp protein, mouse; C496619:Vav1 protein, mouse; C490565:Vav2 protein, mouse; C496622:Vav3 protein, mouse; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases