Evidence for inducible recruitment of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein to T cell receptor-CD3 complex in Jurkat T cells.

BACKGROUND The engagement of the T cell receptor (TCR)-CD3 complex induces the formation of multiple signalling complexes, which are required for actin cytoskeletal rearrangement. The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp) is a key regulator of actin polymerization that is recruited to the TCR activation site. Since WASp is a binding partner of adaptor protein Nck, which is recruited directly to the TCR CD3? subunit upon TCR ligation, therefore we proposed that the direct recruitment of Nck to TCR-CD3 may also bring WASp directly to TCR-CD3. OBJECTIVE The aim of this present study was to assess the distribution of WASp, in relation to Nck, to the TCR-CD3ε complex. METHODS Jurkat T cells were stimulated with anti-TCR antibody and then the cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-CD3 antibody before immunoblotting with antibodies specific to WASp, Nck1, Nck2, SLP-76 and CD3ε molecules. RESULTS WASp was recruited to SLP-76 and also directly to the TCR-CD3 complex upon TCR triggering. The inducible recruitment of WASp to the TCR-CD3 complex is partially dependent of tyrosine phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS The present findings provide an alternative mechanism of WASp recruitment to the site of TCR activation that may be involved in recruitment of Nck.