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The modulation of plasma membrane proteins involved in the communication with the immune system is a general mechanism developed by viruses to escape the immune response. Most of the studied examples have focused on viral proteins that missort cellular proteins during their biosynthesis. However, an increasing number of examples show that the down-modulation can also be achieved after membrane delivery by targeting into the endocytic pathway. For both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the proteins required for this process are identified, Nef and K3/K5 respectively. The extensive studies in this field have shown that the mechanisms by which these proteins "parasite" the endocytic pathway are completely different. Nef directly interacts with components of the cellular machinery involved in the vesicular transport between the endocytic compartments, mainly the clathrin adaptor complexes (AP), inducing the misrouting of numerous cellular proteins, including CD4, MHC-I, LIGHT, DC-SIGN, CD28 and MHC-II to the endosomal degradation compartment or the trans Golgi-network. The K3 and K5 proteins from KSHV act by inducing the ubiquitylation of the target proteins, such as CMH-I and B7.2, triggering their internalization and subsequent degradation by the highly conserved Tsg101/vps23 ubiquitin-dependent endosomal pathway. While these findings show that the strategies used by viruses to target cellular proteins to the endocytic pathway are extremely diverse, additional investigations are needed for the complete understanding of the specific roles of Nef and K3/K5 in the physiopathology of HIV and KSHV infections, respectively. In addition, these viral factors represent valuable tools to study the pathway they are perturbing.

beta-arrestins (betaarrs) are two highly homologous proteins that uncouple G protein-coupled receptors from their cognate G proteins, serve as adaptor molecules linking G protein-coupled receptors to clathrin-coat components (AP-2 complex and clathrin), and act as scaffolding proteins for ERK1/2 and JNK3 cascades. A striking difference between the two betaarrs (betaarr1 and betaarr2) is that betaarr1 is evenly distributed throughout the cell, whereas betaarr2 shows an apparent cytoplasmic localization at steady state. Here, we investigate the molecular determinants underlying this differential distribution. betaarr2 is constitutively excluded from the nucleus by a leptomycin B-sensitive pathway because of the presence of a classical leucine-rich nuclear export signal in its C terminus (L395/L397) that is absent in betaarr1. In addition, using a nuclear import assay in yeast we showed that betaarr2 is actively imported into the nucleus, suggesting that betaarr2 undergoes constitutive nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. In cells expressing betaarr2, JNK3 is mostly cytosolic. A point mutation of the nuclear export signal (L395A) in betaarr2, which was sufficient to redistribute betaarr2 from the cytosol to the nucleus, also caused the nuclear relocalization of JNK3. These data indicate that the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of betaarr2 controls the subcellular distribution of JNK3.

The AP1 complex is one of a family of heterotetrameric clathrin-adaptor complexes involved in vesicular trafficking between the Golgi and endosomes. The complex has two large subunits, gamma and beta1, which can be divided into trunk, hinge, and appendage domains. The 1.8 A resolution structure of the gamma appendage is presented. The binding site for the known gamma appendage ligand gamma-synergin is mapped through creation of point mutations designed on the basis of the structure. We also show that Eps15, a protein believed to be involved in vesicle formation at the plasma membrane, is also a ligand of gamma appendage and binds to the same site as gamma-synergin. This observation explains the demonstrated brefeldinA (BFA)-sensitive colocalization of Eps15 and AP1 at the Golgi complex.

The ubiquitous eps15 protein was initially described as a substrate of the EGF receptor kinase. Its functions are not yet delineated and this work provides evidence for its possible role in endocytosis. A novel anti-eps15 antibody, 6G4, coimmunoprecipitated proteins of molecular mass 102 kD. In human cells, these proteins were identified as the alpha- and beta-adaptins of the AP-2 complex on the basis of their NH2-terminal sequence and their immunoreactivity with anti-alpha- and anti-beta-adaptin antibodies but not with anti-gamma-adaptin antibody. In addition, the anti-eps15 antibody coimmunoprecipitated metabolically labeled polypeptides with molecular mass of 50 and 17 kD, comparable to those of the two other components of the AP-2 complex, mu2 and sigma 2. Constitutive association of eps15 with AP-2 was confirmed by two sets of experiments. First, eps15 was detected in immunoprecipitates of anti-alpha- and anti-beta-adaptin antibodies. Second, alpha- and beta- but not gamma-adaptins were precipitated by a glutathione-S-transferase eps15 fusion protein. The association of eps15 with AP-2 was ubiquitous and conserved between species, since it was observed in human lymphocytes and epithelial cells and in murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Our results are in keeping with a recent study showing homology between the NH2-terminal domains of eps15 and the product of the gene END3, involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis of the pheromone alpha factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and suggest a possible role for eps15 in clathrin-mediated endocytosis in mammals.

We have analyzed the human gamma/delta T cell alloreactive response to class II HLA-DR molecules and attempted to compare this response with that mediated by the TCR-alpha/beta counterparts. Several gamma/delta CTL clones from a healthy individual were generated in mixed lymphocyte reactions against an EBV-transformed B cell line termed E418. Fine specificity and primary TCR structure of 10 representative clones (all CD4- CD8 +/-) were then determined. Functional studies, with the use of B cell lines homozygous for HLA-DR (DR1-10), indicated that all gamma/delta T cell clones specifically reacted with HLA-DR2 molecules. In addition, five clones were able to cross-react with subtypes of HLA-DR8. Extended panel target experiments, including lymphoblastoid cells expressing various HLA-DR2 subtypes, showed that the T cell clones displayed distinct fine specificities. Clones with broad (Dw2, Dw12, Dw21, Dw8.1, and Dw8.2) or in contrast, more restricted (DRB1*1501 or DRB1*1503) specificity were identified. Furthermore, amino acid substitutions at predicted peptide binding site position 30 and TCR-interacting position 67 of the DRB*1 beta-chain seemed to affect alloresponse of some T cell clones. With respect to TCR-gamma/delta structure, diversity in gene segment usage was observed, with the predominance of T cells using a V3-J gamma 2/V1-J delta 1+ receptor. A smaller fraction of the cells expressed TCR comprising V gamma 9 and V delta 1 regions. In contrast, the V delta 3 gene segment was used by a minority of the cells, and the V delta 2 was not expressed by any T cell clone. Together, the present data indicate that similarly to TCR-alpha/beta, human TCR-gamma/delta lymphocytes may recognize in a highly specific fashion a particular HLA-DR heterodimer. T cell clones cross-reacting with other HLA-DR molecules were also identified. Despite some degree of heterogeneity, V gene segment use by alloreactive clones seemed to be nonrandom. No obvious correlation between TCR gene use and HLA-DR alloreactivity could be identified. Moreover, our results suggest that similarly to TCR-alpha/beta cells, foreign MHC-bound peptides may contribute to TCR-gamma/delta alloreactive response.

One monoclonal antibody, HML-4, directed against the alpha E beta 7 integrin (CD103), an integrin preferentially expressed on human intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL), induced the homotypic aggregation of IEL and of a CD103+ MOLT16 cell line. Aggregation was an active adhesion event dependent on an intact cytoskeleton, on tyrosine phosphorylation but not on activation of protein kinase C. It was blocked by four other anti-CD103 antibodies but by none of the antibodies blocking known adhesion lymphocyte pathways. It was associated with a redistribution of the CD103 integrin in the areas of cell-cell contacts. These results indicated that HML-4-induced homotypic adhesion was mediated via CD103 and resulted from the binding of the integrin to an as yet undefined ligand expressed by CD103+ cells. This ligand was distinct from the epithelial ligand of CD103: in contrast with homotypic adhesion, heterotypic adhesion of CD103+ MOLT16 cells on two epithelial intestinal cell lines (DLD1 and HT29) was dependent on the presence of divalent cations, was not enhanced by HML-4, was inhibited by HML-1 but not by the three other antibodies with an inhibitory effect on homotypic adhesion. Finally, the study of conjugates between CD103+ and CD103- sublines derived from the MOLT16 cell line suggested that HML-4-induced homotypic aggregation resulted from homophilic CD103-CD103 interactions.