Pepro Tech
Originally published online as doi:10.1189/jlb.0107045 on June 22, 2007

Published online before print June 22, 2007
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Free
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
jlb.0107045v1
82/3/686    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Herrmann, T. L.
Right arrow Articles by Kusner, D. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Herrmann, T. L.
Right arrow Articles by Kusner, D. J.
(Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2007;82:686-699.)
© 2007 by Society for Leukocyte Biology

MHC Class II levels and intracellular localization in human dendritic cells are regulated by calmodulin kinase II

Tara L. Herrmann*,{dagger}, Reitu S. Agrawal*, Sean F. Connolly*,{dagger}, Ramona L. McCaffrey*, Jamie Schlomann* and David J. Kusner*,{dagger},{ddagger},§,1

* The Inflammation Program, Division of Infectious Diseases,
{ddagger} Departments of Internal Medicine, and Physiology and Biophysics and Graduate Programs in
{dagger} Immunology and
§ Molecular Biology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

1 Correspondence: Inflammation Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Dr., SW 54-8, GH, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. E-mail: david-kusner{at}uiowa.edu

Dendritic cells (DC) are professional APC, which activate the adaptive immune response. A Ca2+-calmodulin (CaM)-CaM kinase II (CaMKII) pathway regulates maturation and MHC Class II antigen presentation in human DC. The objective of this study was to characterize the mechanisms by which CaMKII modulates the levels and subcellular distribution of MHC Class II molecules. Inhibition of CaMKII via the highly specific, autoinhibitory peptide derived from the enzyme’s regulatory domain resulted in rapid (60 min) and sustained (24 h) reduction of MHC Class II levels in antigen-stimulated, primary, human DC. The initial depletion of intracellular and cell surface MHC Class II was associated with its enhanced lysosomal trafficking and increased activity of specific proteases in the absence of effects on other transmembrane proteins (CD1b and CD34) or a detectable change in lysosomal degradation of exogenous protein. Inhibition of CaMKII also resulted in significant reductions in the level and stability of MHC Class II mRNA and the levels and nucleocytosolic localization of its major transcriptional regulator CIITA. These data support a model in which CaMKII regulates the levels and localization of MHC Class II protein in human DC via transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational mechanisms. These pathways are likely important to the physiologic regulation of MHC Class II as well as to its dysregulation in disease states associated with altered CaMKII function.

Key Words: cell activation • signal transduction • antigen presentation/processing • transcription factors