The cellular-stress response can mediate cellular protection through expression of heat-shock protein (Hsp) 70, which can interfere with the process of apoptotic cell death. Stress-induced apoptosis proceeds through a defined biochemical process that involves cytochrome c, Apaf-1 and caspase proteases. Here we show, using a cell-free system, that Hsp70 prevents cytochrome c/dATP-mediated caspase activation, but allows the formation of Apaf-1 oligomers. Hsp70 binds to Apaf-1 but not to procaspase-9, and prevents recruitment of caspases to the apoptosome complex. Hsp70 therefore suppresses apoptosis by directly associating with Apaf-1 and blocking the assembly of a functional apoptosome.

Proteoglycan 4 (PRG4/lubricin) is secreted by cells that reside in articular cartilage and line the synovial joint. Lubricin may play a role in modulating inflammatory responses through interaction with CD44. This led us to examine if lubricin could be playing a larger role in the modulation of inflammation/immunity through interaction with Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) cells overexpressing TLRs 2, 4 or 5 and surface plasmon resonance were employed to determine if full length recombinant human lubricin was able to bind to and activate TLRs. Primary human synovial fibroblasts were also examined using flow cytometry and Luminex multiplex ELISA. A rat destabilization model of osteoarthritis (OA) was used to determine if lubricin injections were able to regulate pain and/or inflammation in vivo. Lubricin can bind to and regulate the activity of TLRs, leading to downstream changes in inflammatory signalling independent of HA. We confirmed these findings in vivo through intra-articular injections of lubricin in a rat OA model where the inhibition of systemic inflammatory signaling and reduction in pain were observed. Lubricin plays an important role in regulating the inflammatory environment under both homeostatic and tissue injury states.

The chemistries within phagosomes of APCs mediate microbial destruction as well as generate peptides for presentation on MHC class II. The antimicrobial effector NADPH oxidase (NOX2), which generates superoxide within maturing phagosomes, has also been shown to regulate activities of cysteine cathepsins through modulation of the lumenal redox potential. Using real-time analyses of lumenal microenvironmental parameters, in conjunction with hydrolysis pattern assessment of phagocytosed proteins, we demonstrated that NOX2 activity not only affects levels of phagosomal proteolysis as previously shown, but also the pattern of proteolytic digestion. Additionally, it was found that NOX2 deficiency adversely affected the ability of bone marrow–derived macrophages, but not dendritic cells, to process and present the I-Ab–immunodominant peptide of the autoantigen myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). Computational and experimental analyses indicated that the I-Ab binding region of the immunodominant peptide of MOG is susceptible to cleavage by the NOX2-controlled cysteine cathepsins L and S in a redox-dependent manner. Consistent with these findings, I-Ab mice that were deficient in the p47phox or gp91phox subunits of NOX2 were partially protected from MOG-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and displayed compromised reactivation of MOG-specific CD4+ T cells in the CNS, despite eliciting a normal primary CD4+ T cell response to the inoculated MOG Ag. Taken together, this study demonstrates that the redox microenvironment within the phagosomes of APCs is a determinant in MHC class II repertoire production in a cell-specific and Ag-specific manner, which can ultimately impact susceptibility to CD4+ T cell–driven autoimmune disease processes.

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains bind to phosphotyrosine (Tyr(P)) residues in specific sequence contexts in other proteins and thereby mediate tyrosine phosphorylationdependent protein-protein interactions. The SH2 domain of the Src family kinase Lck is phosphorylated at tyrosine 192 in T cells upon T cell antigen receptor triggering. We have studied the consequences of this phosphorylation on the properties of the SH2 domain and on the function of Lck in T cell activation. We report that phosphorylation at SH21 domains are independently folded hemispherical units of ϳ100 amino acid residues, which are found in many signaling proteins (1-5). Their physiological function is to bind Tyr(P) residues in specific sequence contexts in other cellular proteins, thereby facilitating the formation of tyrosine phosphorylationinduced multimeric protein complexes (1, 3).The ligand-binding surface of the SH2 domain of the Lck nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase contains two pockets, one for the Tyr(P) residue and another for the amino acid residue three positions C-terminal to it, the ϩ3 amino acid (2, 5). Although the first pocket is well conserved among SH2 domains, the residues of the SH2 domain that form and surround the second pocket vary more. These differences determine the depth and properties of the pocket and thereby the preferred amino acid ligand (6, 7). In the case of the Lck SH2 domain, the optimal ligand is a Tyr(P) followed by two acidic residues followed by an isoleucine at position ϩ3, a specificity largely determined by amino acid residues in ␤ strands D and E and in the EF loop adjacent to the second pocket (6, 8). Recently, it was shown that a single amino acid substitution in the EF loop in the SH2 domain of c-Src (a T215W mutation) changed the ligand selection of the SH2 domain to that of the Grb2 SH2 domain (9), which has a tryptophan residue at the corresponding location in its EF loop. Conversely, a switch from tryptophan to threonine in the SH2 domain of Grb2 changed its ligand preference to that of the c-Src SH2 domain (9).Here we describe a more physiological regulation of the function of an SH2 domain, namely the effect of phosphorylation of a highly conserved tyrosine residue, Tyr 192 , in the end of ␤ strand E in the Lck SH2 domain. This phosphorylation event, which can be catalyzed by Syk and possibly Zap nonreceptor kinases, leads to a profound down-regulation of the ligand binding capacity of the SH2 domain. The consequences for the function of Lck as a signal transducer in T cell activation were studied. MATERIALS AND METHODSCells and Reagents-Jurkat human T leukemia cells were grown in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum, L-glutamine, and antibiotics. COS-1 cells were kept at logarithmic growth in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, L-glutamine, and antibiotics. The rabbit antiserum against the protein tyrosine kinase Syk (residues 253-365) was described earlier (10). The anti-Lck antiserum, raised against residues 39 -64 of...

Activation of resting T lymphocytes is initiated by rapid but transient tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of cellular proteins. Several protein tyrosine kinases and protein tyrosine phosphatases are known to be important for this response. Here we report that normal T lymphocytes express the B isoform of low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase B (LMPTP-B). The cDNA was cloned from Jurkat T cells, and an antiserum was raised against it. LMPTP immunoprecipitated from resting Jurkat T cells was found to be tyrosine phosphorylated. On stimulation of the cells through their T cell antigen receptor, the phosphotyrosine content of LMPTP-B declined rapidly. In co-transfected COS cells, Lck and Fyn caused phosphorylation of LMPTP, whereas Csk, Zap, and Jak2 did not. Most of the phosphate was located at Tyr-131, and some was also located at Tyr-132. Incubation of wild-type LMPTP with Lck and adenosine 5-O-(thiotriphosphate) caused a 2-fold increase in the activity of LMPTP. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that Tyr-131 is important for the catalytic activity of LMPTP, and that thiophosphorylation of Tyr-131, and to a lesser degree Tyr-132, is responsible for the activation.One of the earliest biochemical events seen in T lymphocytes triggered through the T cell antigen receptor complex is the enhanced phosphorylation of a number of cellular proteins on tyrosine residues (1, 2). Inhibition of this event by pharmacological agents prevents T cell activation as measured by both functional readouts and biochemical assays (3, 4). It has become evident that several protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) 1 and the CD45 protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) play crucial roles (reviewed in Refs. 5-7), and that the T cell antigen receptor-induced cascade of transient tyrosine phosphorylation events depends on a dynamic interplay between these and, presumably, many additional PTKs and PTPases. In addition to CD45 (8 -10), only two other PTPases have been implicated in T cell activation, namely SHP1 (11) and SHP2 (12).The low molecular weight PTPases LMPTP-A and LMPTP-B constitute a class of PTPases with limited sequence homology to the other PTPases (13-16). Nevertheless, these enzymes are highly specific for PTyr (14). Chemical modifications and mutagenesis experiments have shown that their catalytic mechanism involves a cysteine residue, Cys-12, which participates in phosphoenzyme intermediate formation (15), as in other PTPases. The recent crystallization of LMPTP (16) showed that the catalytic center is quite similar to that of "classical" PTPases, with Cys-12 residing in the bottom of the catalytic pocket.The physiological functions of LMPTP are unknown. Overexpression of LMPTP in cells transformed by PTK oncogenes leads to decreased proliferation and the ability to form colonies in soft agar (17). Thus, a potential physiological function of the LMPTPs is to control normal cell growth by interacting directly or indirectly with the PTK signaling network. Reportedly, LMPTP can interact directly with the platelet-derived grow...