This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains that are proposed to function as platforms for both receptor signaling and trafficking. Our previous studies have demonstrated that Tip of herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), which is a T-lymphotropic tumor virus, is constitutively targeted to lipid rafts and interacts with cellular Lck tyrosine kinase and p80 WD repeat-containing endosomal protein. Through the interactions with Lck and p80, HVS Tip modulates diverse T-cell functions, which leads to the downregulation of T-cell receptor (TCR) and CD4 coreceptor surface expression, the inhibition of TCR signal transduction and the activation of STAT3 transcription factor. In this study, we investigated the functional significance of Tip association with lipid rafts. We found that Tip expression remarkably increased lipid raft fractions in human T cells by enhancing the recruitment of lipid raft-resident proteins. Genetic analysis showed that the carboxyl-terminal transmembrane, but not p80 and Lck interaction, of Tip was required for the lipid raft localization and that lipid raft localization of Tip was necessary for the efficient downregulation of TCR and CD4 surface expression. Correlated with this, treatment with Filipin III, a lipid raft-disrupting agent, effectively reversed the down-reulation of CD3 and CD4 surface expression induced by Tip. On the other hand, Tip mutants that were no longer present in lipid rafts were still capable of inhibiting TCR signaling and activating STAT3 transcription factor activity as efficiently as wild-type (wt) Tip. These results indicate that the association of Tip with lipid rafts is essential for the downregulation of TCR and CD4 surface expression but not for the inhibition of TCR signal transduction and the activation of STAT3 transcription factor. These results also suggest that the signaling and targeting activites of HVS Tip rely on functionally and genetically separable mechanisms, which may independently modulate T-cell function for viral persistence or pathogenesis.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 365 publications
