Two to three percent of the world's population is chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and thus at risk of developing liver cancer. Although precise mechanisms regulating HCV entry into hepatic cells are still unknown, several cell surface proteins have been identified as entry factors for this virus. Among these molecules, the tetraspanin CD81 is essential for HCV entry. Here, we have identified a partner of CD81, EWI-2wint, which is expressed in several cell lines but not in hepatocytes. Ectopic expression of EWI-2wint in a hepatoma cell line susceptible to HCV infection blocked viral entry by inhibiting the interaction between the HCV envelope glycoproteins and CD81. This finding suggests that, in addition to the presence of specific entry factors in the hepatocytes, the lack of a specific inhibitor can contribute to the hepatotropism of HCV. This is the first example of a pathogen gaining entry into host cells that lack a specific inhibitory factor.

In many cell types, nuclear A-type lamins have been implicated in structural and functional activities, including higher-order genome organization, DNA replication and repair, gene transcription, and signal transduction. However, their role in specialized immune cells remains largely unexplored. Here, we showed that the abundance of A-type lamins is almost negligible in resting naïve T lymphocytes, but that it is substantially increased upon activation of the T cell receptor (TCR), and is an early event that accelerates formation of the immunological synapse between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. We found that lamin-A enhanced the polymerization of F-actin in T cells, a critical step for immunological synapse formation, by physically connecting the nucleus to the plasma membrane through the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex. We also showed that lamin-A played a key role in other membrane, cytoplasmic, and nuclear events related to TCR activation, including receptor-clustering, downstream signaling, and target gene expression. Notably, the presence of lamin-A was associated with enhanced extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 signaling, and pharmacological inhibition of this pathway reduced the extent of lamin-A-dependent T cell activation. Moreover, mice deficient in lamin-A exhibited impaired T cell responses in vivo. These findings underscore the importance of A-type lamins for TCR activation, and identify lamin-A as a previously unappreciated regulator of the immune response.

Data presented here provide evidence for a new direct interaction of the GTPase Rac with the C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of tetraspanin CD81. Tetraspanin-enriched, microdomain-dependent compartmentalization is a novel regulatory mechanism of Rac activity turnover, which provides a novel mechanism for regulation of cell motility by tetraspanins.