Lymphocyte Activation - Gene Expression Flashcards
What are the three groups of induced gene products of T cel activation?
Immediate genes - expressed within 30 mins
Early genes - expressed within 1-2 hours
Late genes - expressed after 2 days
What are the immediate genes, give five examples?
These tend to be transcription factors
- c-Fos
- c-Jun
- c-Myc
- NFAT
- NF-kB
What are five examples of early genes?
IL-2
IL-2R
IL-3
IL-6
IFN-gamma
What are the late genes?
Adhesion molecules
Write about the immediate genes
(NB - coming up on exam)
(3)
Transcription factors c-Fos and c-Jun come together toform a master transcription factor known as AP-1 (activator-protein 1)
c-Fos, c-Jun, c-Myc are wild type transcription factors that control proliferation in cells -> they are proto-oncogenese
Can be mutated to be constantly switched on and become cancer
What is the start point of signal transduction, what are the two most common forms of this?
(3)
Interaction between a signal and its receptor
Signals that cannot penetrate the cell membrane bind to cell surface receptors
Hydrophobic signals e.g. steroids diffuse through the cell membrane and bind intracellular receptors
What molecule are signals often transducted through?
G-proteins such as Ras
What are G proteins?
Membrane-linked molecules whose activites are controlled by the binding of GTP (on) and GDP (off)
What swithces Ras on and off?
Ras bound to guanine triphosphate is swithed on
Ras bound to guanine diphosphate is swthced off
How do we activate G proteins such as Ras, how do we get from GDP to GTP?
(4)
In the resting state G proteins are bound to GDP
Signalling activates guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) to displace GDP from small G proteins and allow GTP to bind
Over time, the small G protein hydrolyzes GTP to GDP i.e. GTP looses a phosphate group to become inactivated
*you would think a phosphate is added on like other molecules but this is not the case - do not get mixed up
What is a second messenger?
A molecule or ion that can diffuse to other cellular sites and evoke changes
Give five examples of second messengers
cAMP
cGMP
Ca2+
DAG
IP3
What are the three most important second messengers?
Ca2+
DAF
IP3 - inositol triphosphate
When is Ca2+ released, what does it do?
(2)
Ca2+ is released after co-stimulator signal
Calcium rapidly diffuses throughout the cell and induces conformational changes in calmodulin
What are adaptor/scaffold molecules?
Molecules that allow all the tiny molecules involved in cell activation to come together and find each other at the right time
How is a scaffold built up?
(3)
Start of with an unphosphorylated scaffold protein
Acivation of protein kinase results in phosphorylation of a scaffold
The phosphorylated scaffold recruits signalling proteins that bind to it
Give three examples of adaptor/scaffold molecules
SLP76
LAT -> linked or activated T cells
GADS
What amplifies up the original signal?
Enzyme cascades
In particular kinase cascades
What are the three main points in the kinase cascade?
Raf -> Mek -> Erk
What are the steps of T cel activation so far?
TCR complex and MHC/peptide engagement occurs
p56-Lck is associated with CD4 and CD8
In resting T cells Lck is sequestered from the TCR complex in lipid rafts
The TCR complex moved into lipid rafts on engagment with the MHC.peptide complex
Lck phosphorylates the ITAMS of CD3 ans in the cytoplasmic tails of the zeta chains
What are membrane/lipid rafts?
(4)
Specialised regions of the cell membrane enriched for saturated lipids and cholesterol
GPI-linked proteins and acylated proteins such as Src family kinases e.g. Lck are found in lipid rafts
Lipid rafts are dynamic structures that can change size and protein content
Some proteins migrate into lipid rafts when they are oligomerised by binding ligand e.g. TCR
What is the function of the lipid rafts?
(3)
They prevent the inappropriate activation of the TCR complex
TCR cannot move into lipid raft until it has engaged with antigen on MHC
Only then can Lck phosphorylate the ITAMS in the zeta chains of CD3 (and other chains of CD3)
Talk about the structure of the zeta chain of CD3, what binding sites are present?
Each zeta chain has 3 ITAMS
Each ITAM has 2 tyrosine residues for phosphorylation (thing of ITAM structure)
After TCR has moved into lipid raft, and after signal 1 and 2, what binds to zeta chain of Cd3 and where?
(3)
ZAP-70 binds one of the three ITAMS of zeta chain of CD3
ZAP-70 does so by using its two tandem SH2 domains to bind to the two phosphorylated tyrosines of the ITAM
Basically ZAP-70 can bind to CD3 in the same way p56-Lck can
What is ZAP-70 and how is ZAP-70 activated?
Its a tyrosine kinase
Its activated by phosphorylation by Lck/autophosphorylation
I think its also activated after the work of p56Lck on CD3 -> once CD3 is activated then ZAP-70 can bind and initiate next step
What is another cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase found in physical association with the TCR other than ZAP-70, what does it do?
Membrane-associated Fyn
It is thought to play a similar role to p56Lck
What can ZAP-70 phosphorylate other than ITAMS, what do these do?
It can bind to a number of membrane-associated adaptor molecules:
- SLP-76
- LAT
- GADS
These act as anchor points for several intracellular signal transduction pathways
What kind of structure/binding domain is required for ITAMs?
2 consequtive SH2 domains
What is ZAP-70?
Zeta associated protein of 70 kilodaltons
Name a molecule with 2 consecutive SH2 domains suitable for binding to the Zeta chains of ITAMs?
ZAP-70 -> zeta chain associated protein
How is Zap-70 activated?
Activated by Lck or by autophosphorylation i.e. it can activate itself
addition of a phosphate activates Zap-70
Explain in your own words the steps required to activate Zap-70 and what comes after this?
(4)
TCR complex and coreceptors are clustered within membrane lipid rafts by antigen recognition
Lck phosphorylates tyrosines in ITAMs of zeta chains of CD3 -> activating CD3
Zap-70 binds to phophotyrosines of Z chains and phosphorylates adapter/scaffold proteins such as LAT
Assembly of adapter protein and enzyme scaffolds occurs, multiple signaling pathways are activated
Explain in your own words the steps required to activate Zap-70 and what comes after this?
(4)
TCR complex and coreceptors are clustered within membrane lipid rafts by antigen recognition
Lck phosphorylates tyrosines in ITAMs of zeta chains of CD3 -> activating CD3
Zap-70 binds to phophotyrosines of Z chains and phosphorylates adapter/scaffold proteins such as LAT
Assembly of adapter protein and enzyme scaffolds occurs, multiple signaling pathways are activated
What domains allow for ZAP-70 binding to ITAMS of CD3?
2 tandem SH2 domains
-> these bind to phosphorylated tyrosines found in the zeta chains of an activated/phosphorylated ITAM (phosphorylated by Lck previously)
What does ZAP-70 binding to ITAMS activate?
This binding phosphorylates adapter proteins such as LAT and SLP-76
This starts the assembly of adapter protein and enzyme scaffolds
How is a LAT/SLP-76 scaffold made?
(7)
Activated ZAP-70 phosphorylates LAT and SLP-56
GADS then brings SLP-76 and LAT together
GADS:SLP-76:LAT complex recruits PLC-y
Phospholipase Cy (PLCgamma) and Itk is recruited to the membrane by PIP3
PLCy is then recruited by GADS:LAT:SLP-76 complex
Itk recruited to membrane by PIP3 where it is now phosphorylated by Lck
Activated Itk then associated with LAT/SLP-76 complex to phosphorylate PLCy1