In this application we propose to examine the role of the novel protein Chat-H in signaling pathways that regulate T lymphocyte migration. In preliminary studies, we used lentivirus-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) to silence expression of Chat-H in mouse primary T cells and study the effect of Chat-H deletion on T cell function. We found that whereas Chat-H downregulation had no effect on T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signaling, in vitro and in vivo chemokine-induced migration of Chat-H deficient T cells was dramatically impaired. Defects in migration and adhesion correlated with impaired activation of the Rap-1 GTPase, which is a key regulator of integrin-mediated cellular adhesion and migration. Chat-H constitutively associated with the signaling protein CasL and formation of this complex was necessary for migration. These observations suggest that Chat-H is an important regulator of chemokine receptor signaling and T lymphocyte migration and it that it acts together with CasL to regulate these processes. To study the in vivo requirement for Chat-H we recently generated Chat-H knockout mice and consistent with previous results, preliminary studies show that T cells from these mice exhibit impaired in vitro migration. In the experiments described here, we propose to examine the mechanisms through which Chat-H regulates chemokine-induced T lymphocyte migration and the effect of Chat-H deficiency in this process. We will test the following hypothesis: Chat-H regulates chemokine-induced T lymphocyte migration by activating Rap1 and Rap1-mediated integrin activation, cell adhesion and migration. Deficiency in Chat-H expression results in defective integrin-mediated adhesion and as a result impaired homeostatic homing of T cells to secondary lymphoid organs, and compromised T-cell-mediated immune responses. To test this hypothesis we will use first use T cells in which Chat-H has been dowregulated by RNAi to define the biochemical mechanisms of how Chat-H regulates Rap1 activation and integrin-mediated adhesion. To study the in vivo requirement for Chat-H we will use Chat-H knockout mice to determine whether Chat-H deficiency affects in vivo migration and homeostatic trafficking of mature T cells to peripheral lymphoid organs, and T-cell-mediated immune responses. We anticipate that these experiments will lead to novel insight into the mechanisms that regulate lymphocyte chemotaxis and reveal important roles for both Chat-H and CasL in this process downstream of chemokine receptors. Through these studies we also aim towards gaining insight into the role of Chat-H in chronic inflammation and conditions associated with leukocyte adhesion deficiencies and identify therapeutic targets for treating human diseases.
