CD69 is a membrane-bound, type II C-lectin receptor. It is a classical early marker of lymphocyte activation due to its rapid appearance on the surface of the plasma membrane after stimulation. CD69 is expressed by several subsets of tissue resident immune cells, including resident memory T (TRM) cells and gamma delta (γδ) T cells, and is therefore considered a marker of tissue retention. Recent evidence has revealed that CD69 regulates some specific functions of selected T-cell subsets, determining the migrationretention ratio as well as the acquisition of effector or regulatory phenotypes. Specifically, CD69 regulates the differentiation of regulatory T (Treg) cells as well as the secretion of IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-22. The identification of putative CD69 ligands, such as Galectin-1 (Gal-1), suggests that CD69-induced signaling can be regulated not only during cognate contacts between T cells and antigen-presenting cells in lymphoid organs, but also in the periphery, where cytokines and other metabolites control the final outcome of the immune response. Here, we will discuss new aspects of the molecular signaling mediated by CD69 and its involvement in the metabolic reprogramming regulating TH-effector lineages.Keywords: CD69 r Galectin-1 r LAT1 r Metabolism r mTOR r S1P1 r T cells
IntroductionCD69 is a disulfide-linked homodimer protein with two differentially glycosylated subunits (28-32 kDa). Each subunit consists of an extracellular C-type lectin domain (CTLD) connected with a single-spanning transmembrane region followed by a short cytoplasmic tail (Fig. 1). The CD69 gene is located in the natural killer (NK) gene cluster, chromosome 6 in mouse and 12 in human [1,2]. Binding sites for several inducible transcriptional factors such as nuclear factor (NF)-κB, erythroblast transformationspecific related gene-1 (ERG-1) and activator protein-(AP-) 1 are located within the CD69 gene promoter [3,4]. CD69 expression is readily upregulated upon activation in most leukocytes, which underlies its widespread use as a marker of activated lymphocytes and NK cells, mainly [5]. In addition to its intrinsic value as an Correspondence: Dr. Francisco Sánchez-Madrid e-mail: fsmadrid@salud.madrid.org activation marker, recent evidence suggests that CD69 is also an important regulator of immune responses. Although the precise role of CD69 expression on immune cells function is yet to be elucidated, accumulating experimental evidence has revealed that CD69 may determine patterns of cytokine release as well as homing and migration of activated lymphocytes. In this review, we aim to update the state of the art regarding the functional role of CD69 in the regulation of the immune responses. We offer an integrated perspective of the mechanisms that drive the immune effects mediated by CD69 as well as potential synergies and antagonisms with other signaling routes involved in the immune response.
CD69 is an early activation markerCD69 expression is rapidly induced on the surface of T lymphocytes after TCR/CD3 engagement, activating cy...