title: An atypical tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor-binding motif of B cell-activating factor belonging to the TNF family (BAFF) receptor mediates induction of the noncanonical NF-kappaB signaling pathway.
abstract: BAFF receptor (BAFFR) is a member of the TNF receptor (TNFR) superfamily that regulates the survival and maturation of B cells. BAFFR exerts its signaling function by inducing activation of NF-kappaB, although the underlying mechanism has not been well defined. By using a chimeric BAFFR, we show that BAFFR preferentially induces the noncanonical NF-kappaB signaling pathway. This specific function of BAFFR is mediated by a sequence motif, PVPAT, which is homologous to the TRAF-binding site (PVQET) present in CD40, a TNFR known to induce both the canonical and noncanonical NF-kappaB pathways. Mutation of this putative TRAF-binding motif within BAFFR abolishes its interaction with TRAF3 as well as its ability to induce noncanonical NF-kappaB. Interestingly, modification of the PVPAT sequence to the typical TRAF-binding sequence, PVQET, is sufficient to render the BAFFR capable of inducing strong canonical NF-kappaB signaling. Further, this functional acquisition of the modified BAFFR is associated with its stronger and more rapid association with TRAF3. These findings suggest that the PVPAT sequence of BAFFR not only functions as a key signaling motif of BAFFR but also determines its signaling specificity in the induction of the noncanonical NF-kappaB pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reiley
authors.forename: Minying
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shao-Cong
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor; D053265:B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor; D001665:Binding Sites; D019013:CD40 Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D023201:CD40 Ligand / Q000737:chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D002469:Cell Separation; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D047992:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D047988:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor; D053265:B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor; D019013:CD40 Antigens; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D016328:NF-kappa B; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D047992:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 2; D048008:TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 3; C435926:TNFRSF13C protein, human; C505719:TNFSF13B protein, human; C505720:Tnfsf13b protein, mouse; D047988:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D023201:CD40 Ligand; D012260:Ribonucleases