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L-plastin is a leukocyte-specific protein that cross-links actin filaments into tight bundles, increasing the stability of actin-based structures such as podosomes and lamellipodia. While first identified as an abundant cytoplasmic protein in hematopoietically derived cells over 25 years ago, the requirement for L-plastin in multiple functions critical for immunity, such as antigen receptor signaling, adhesion, and motility, has only recently become clear. L-plastin has been identified as an important component in cellular processes critical for neutrophil, macrophage, osteoclast, eosinophil, and T- and B-lymphocyte biology. Following a brief description of the structure and function of L-plastin, the regulation of immune cell functions by L-plastin will be reviewed in detail.

Engagement of TCRs induces actin rearrangements, which are critical for T cell activation. T cell responses require new actin polymerization, but the significance of higher-order actin structures, such as microfilament bundles, is unknown. To determine the role of the actin-bundling protein leukocyte-plastin (L-plastin; LPL) in this process, T cells from LPL−/− mice were studied. LPL−/− T cells were markedly defective in TCR-mediated cytokine production and proliferation. LPL−/− T cells also spread inefficiently on surfaces with immobilized TCR ligands and formed smaller immunological synapses with APCs, likely due to defective formation of lamellipodia. LPL−/− mice showed delayed rejection of skin allografts after release from immunosuppression. Moreover, LPL−/− mice developed much less severe neurologic symptoms in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, which correlated with impaired T cell responses to Ag, manifested by reduced proliferation and production of IFN-γ and IL-17. Thus, LPL-dependent actin bundling facilitates the formation of lamellipodia and normal immunological synapses and thereby enables T cell activation.

Key Points• A key transition from the prealveolar macrophage precursor to mature alveolar macrophage is impaired in neonatal mice lacking LPL.• Genetic impairment of neonatal alveolar macrophage development associates with impaired clearance of a pulmonary pathogen in adult animals. ) exhibited significant reductions in alveolar macrophages and failed to effectively clear pulmonary pneumococcal infection, showing that immunodeficiency results from reduced alveolar macrophage numbers. We next identified the phase of alveolar macrophage development requiring LPL. In mice, fetal monocytes arrive in the lungs during a late fetal stage, maturing to alveolar macrophages through a prealveolar macrophage intermediate. LPL was required for the transition from prealveolar macrophages to mature alveolar macrophages. The transition from prealveolar macrophage to alveolar macrophage requires the upregulation of the transcription factor peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor-g (PPAR-g), which is induced by exposure to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Despite abundant lung GM-CSF and intact GM-CSF receptor signaling, PPAR-g was not sufficiently upregulated in developing alveolar macrophages in LPL 2/2 pups, suggesting that precursor cells were not correctly localized to the alveoli, where GM-CSF is produced. We found that LPL supports 2 actin-based processes essential for correct localization of alveolar macrophage precursors: (1) transmigration into the alveoli, and (2) engraftment in the alveoli. We thus identify a molecular pathway governing neonatal alveolar macrophage development and show that genetic disruption of alveolar macrophage development results in immunodeficiency. (Blood. 2016;128(24):2785-2796

B cell development is exquisitely sensitive to location within specialized niches in the bone marrow and spleen. Location within these niches is carefully orchestrated through chemotactic and adhesive cues. Here we demonstrate the requirement for the actin-bundling protein L-plastin (LPL) in B cell motility towards the chemokines CXCL12 and CXCL13 and the lipid chemoattractant sphingosine-1-phosphate, which guide normal B cell development. Impaired motility of B cells in LPL−/− mice correlated with diminished splenic maturation of B cells, with a moderate (40%) loss of follicular B cells and a profound (>80%) loss of marginal zone B cells. Entry of LPL−/− B cells into the lymph nodes and bone marrow of mice was also impaired. Furthermore, LPL was required for the integrin-mediated enhancement of transwell migration but was dispensable for integrin-mediated lymphocyte adhesion. These results suggest that LPL may participate in signaling that enables lymphocyte transmigration. In support of this hypothesis, the phosphorylation of Pyk-2, a tyrosine kinase that integrates chemotactic and adhesive cues, is diminshed in LPL−/− B cells stimulated with chemokine. Finally, a well-characterized role of marginal zone B cells is the generation of a rapid humoral response to polysaccharide antigens. LPL−/− mice exhibited a defective antibody response to Streptococcus pneumoniae, indicating a functional consequence of defective MZ B cell development in LPL−/− mice.