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Blood, 1 December 2008, Vol. 112, No. 12, pp. 4411-4419.
Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on September 16, 2008; DOI 10.1182/blood-2007-03-080697.
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CHEMOKINES, CYTOKINES, AND INTERLEUKINS
The IL-15 receptor chain cytoplasmic domain is critical for normal IL-15R function but is not required for trans-presentation
Zheng Wu1,
Hai-Hui Xue1,
Jérôme Bernard1,
Rong Zeng1,
Dmitry Issakov2,
Julie Bollenbacher-Reilley1,
Igor M. Belyakov2,
SangKon Oh2,3,
Jay A. Berzofsky2, and
Warren J. Leonard1
1 Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD;
2 Vaccine Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD; and
3 Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX
IL-15 is critical for natural killer (NK)–cell development and function and for memory CD8+ T-cell homeostasis. The IL-15 receptor consists of IL-15R , IL-2Rβ, and the common cytokine receptor chain ( c). IL-15R is known to "trans-present" IL-15 to an IL-2Rβ/ c heterodimeric receptor on responding cells to initiate signaling. To investigate the importance of the IL-15R cytoplasmic domain, we generated a chimeric receptor consisting of the extracellular domain of IL-15R and intracellular domain of IL-2R (IL-15R ext/IL-2R int) and examined its function in 32D cells, in knock-in (KI) mice, and in adoptive-transfer experiments. The chimeric protein exhibited decreased cell-surface expression, and KI mice exhibited diminished NK, NKT, and CD8+ T-cell development and defects in T-cell functional responses. However, 32D cells expressing the chimeric receptor had less IL-15–induced proliferation than wild-type (WT) transfectants with similar levels of IL-15R expression, indicating a signaling role for the IL-15R cytoplasmic domain beyond its effect on expression, and demonstrating that the IL-2R and IL-15R cytoplasmic domains are functionally distinct. Interestingly, adoptive-transfer experiments indicated that the chimeric IL-15R ext/IL-2R int receptor still supports trans-presentation. These experiments collectively indicate that IL-15R can act in cis in addition to acting in trans to present IL-15 to responding cells.

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