Proprotein Convertase FURIN Constrains Th2 Differentiation and Is Critical for Host Resistance against Toxoplasma gondii




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

PublisherAMER ASSOC IMMUNOLOGISTS

BETHESDA; 9650 ROCKVILLE PIKE, BETHESDA, MD 20814 USA

2014

 Journal of Immunology

Journal of Immunology

J.Immunol.

193

11

5470

5479

10

0022-1767

1550-6606

DOIhttps://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.




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