A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Proprotein Convertase FURIN Constrains Th2 Differentiation and Is Critical for Host Resistance against Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Anna Oksanen, Saara Aittomäki, Dragana Jankovic, Zsuzsanna Ortutay, Kati Pulkkinen, Sanna Hämäläinen, Anne Rokka, Garry L. Corthals, Wendy T. Watford, Ilkka Junttila, John J. O’Shea, Marko Pesu
Publisher: AMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS
Publishing place: BETHESDA; 9650 ROCKVILLE PIKE, BETHESDA, MD 20814 USA
Publication year: 2014
Journal: Journal of Immunology
Journal name in source: Journal of Immunology
Journal acronym: J.Immunol.
Volume: 193
Issue: 11
First page : 5470
Last page: 5479
Number of pages: 10
ISSN: 0022-1767
eISSN: 1550-6606
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1401629
The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin enzymes proteolytically convert immature proproteins into bioactive molecules, and thereby they serve as key regulators of cellular homeostasis. The archetype proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin, FURIN, is a direct target gene of the IL-12/STAT4 pathway and it is upregulated in Th1 cells. We have previously demonstrated that FURIN expression in T cells critically regulates the maintenance of peripheral immune tolerance and the functional maturation of pro-TGF-beta 1 in vivo, but FURIN's role in cell-mediated immunity and Th polarization has remained elusive. In this article, we show that T cell-expressed FURIN is essential for host resistance against a prototypic Th1 pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii, and for the generation of pathogen-specific Th1 lymphocytes, including Th1-IL-10 cells. FURIN-deficient Th cells instead show elevated expression of IL-4R subunit a on cell surface, sensitized IL-4/STAT6 signaling, and a propensity to polarize toward the Th2 phenotype. By exploring FURIN-interacting proteins in Jurkat T cells with Strep-Tag purification and mass spectrometry, we further identify an association with a cytoskeleton modifying Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate/dedicator of cytokinesis 2 protein complex and unravel that FURIN promotes F-actin polymerization, which has previously been shown to downregulate IL-4R subunit a cell surface expression and promote Th1 responses. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that in addition to peripheral immune tolerance, T cell-expressed FURIN is also a central regulator of cell-mediated immunity and Th1/2 cell balance.