Inhibition of T-Cell Receptor Signal Transduction and Viral Expression by the Linker for Activation of T Cells-Interacting p12 I Protein of Human T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Virus Type 1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The p12 I protein of human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a small oncoprotein that increases calcium release following protein kinase C activation by phorbol myristate acetate, and importantly, this effect is linker for activation of T cells (LAT) independent. Here, we demonstrate that p12 I inhibits the phosphorylation of LAT, Vav, and phospholipase C-γ1 and decreases NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells) activation upon engagement of the T-cell receptor (TCR) with anti-CD3 antibody. Furthermore, we demonstrate that p12 I localizes to membrane lipid rafts and, upon engagement of the TCR, relocalizes to the interface between T cells and antigen-presenting cells, defined as the immunological synapse. A p12 I knockout molecular clone of HTLV-1 expresses more virus upon antigen stimulation than the isogenic wild type, suggesting that, by decreasing T-cell responsiveness, p12 I curtails viral expression. Thus, p12 I has contrasting effects on TCR signaling: it down-regulates TCR in a LAT-dependent manner on one hand, and on the other, it increases calcium release in a LAT-independent manner. The negative regulation of T-cell activation by p12 I may have evolved to minimize immune recognition of infected CD4 + T cells, to impair the function of infected cytotoxic CD8 + T cells, and to favor viral persistence in the infected host.