October 15, 2010
CONTACT: Karen Kreeger
Shifting Forms: Penn Study Shows How Variations of Same Protein Affect Immune Response
Implications for autoimmune and neurological diseases
PHILADELPHIA – How a T cell decides to make protein X, Y, or Z can have profound effects for fighting foreign invaders or staving off dire autoimmune reactions. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine have identified the steps that control how different forms of an immune cell protein called CD45, which is critical for activating the immune system when faced with pathogens, are controlled in the arc of a body’s immune response.
The shift between different forms of CD45 helps T cells function properly and also prevents hyperactivity, which could lead to the body’s own immune system attacking itself. Knowing precisely how this shifting system works has implications for understanding autoimmune and neurological diseases.
"We have identified a new paradigm for the regulation of a process called alternative splicing, which allows for a single gene to code for multiple variations of one type of protein,” says Kristen W. Lynch, PhD, associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. This study appeared in an October issue of Molecular Cell.
CD45, a receptor protein that sits on the surface of T cells, is essential for immunity, for example, severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), also known as “bubble boy” syndrome, is caused by the absence of CD45.
Normal CD45 comes in five forms, all different lengths. In resting T cells, longer forms of CD45 messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein predominate, but in activated cells, the shorter form of CD45 mRNA is most abundant. “There is a spectrum of forms that shift toward full length in resting cells and towards the shorter form in activated cells,” says Lynch. Messenger RNA contains the chemical blueprint for how to make a protein.
The first component that they identified is that another molecule called glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) found in resting T cells adds a phosphate molecule to polypyrimidine-tract binding protein-associated splicing factor (PSF). The phosphorylated PSF is then sequestered in a large protein complex by the third molecule called TRAP150. When PSF stays in this complex, the longer forms of CD45 predominate, and the T cell is ready to respond to foreign invaders. After a response, PSF loses its phosphates, and is released from TRAP150. As a consequence, PSF is then free to form the shortened forms of CD45 mRNA, which helps return the immune response to a resting state.
Splicing of CD45 mRNA involves recognition by PSF of a short length of RNA sequence called the exonic splicing silencer (ESS). Some variations within the ESS sequence are associated with autoimmune disease, especially multiple sclerosis. “We suspect that there are other spliced genes in T cells that follow the same path as CD45, and we are directing current efforts to identify them,” said Lynch.
GSK3, a critical element in T cell activation, is important in other cell types and in other signaling pathways: It has been linked to the development of tauopathies, a group of neuronal diseases that includes Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. GSK3 is the focus of a search for drugs that might affect these and other diseases. For example, lithium is currently used to treat bipolar disorder by inactivating GSK3 in brain cells.
“Known and potential GSK3 inhibitors may also affect the health of the immune system,” notes Lynch. “This emphasizes the importance of better understanding the variety of functions of GSK3 in the body.”
This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Science and a fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 17 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2013 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; Chester County Hospital; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.
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