|
|
||||||||
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02139
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
(CXC) chemokine but also has
characteristics of CC chemokines and a structure similar to fractalkine
(neurotactin) in having a transmembrane region and a chemokine domain
suspended by a mucin-like stalk. A recombinant version of CXCL16 fails
to mediate chemotaxis to all known chemokine receptor transfectants
tested but does mediate robust chemotaxis, high affinity binding, and
calcium mobilization to Bonzo receptor transfectants, indicating that
this is a unique receptor ligand interaction. In vitro polarized T cell
subsets including Th1, Th2, and Tr1 cells express functional Bonzo,
suggesting expression of this receptor in chronic inflammation, which
we further verified by demonstration of CXCL16-mediated migration of
tonsil-derived CD4+ T lymphocytes. CXCL16 is expressed on
the surface of APCs including subsets of CD19+ B cells and
CD14+ monocyte/macrophages, and functional CXCL16 is also
shed from macrophages. The combination of unique structural features of
both Bonzo and CXCL16 suggest that this interaction may represent a new
class of ligands for this receptor family. Additionally, this chemokine
might play a unique dual role of attracting activated lymphocyte
subsets during inflammation as well as facilitating immune responses
via cell-cell contact. | Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Recently, several GPCRs have been cloned with no known natural ligands and are thus referred to as "orphan GPCRs" (12). One orphan receptor referred to as STRL33/BONZO/TYMSTR (referred to herein as Bonzo), simultaneously identified in three groups, was shown to be expressed on activated T cells, and can serve as an HIV/SIV coreceptor. Subsequent studies have shown Bonzo to be a receptor more frequently expressed on memory T cells with a preferential expression on CD8-positive T cells (but is expressed on CD4-positive cells as well) (13, 14, 15). As no known chemokines have been shown to interact with Bonzo, it has remained an orphan receptor, while sequence comparisons strongly suggest that it is a CCR. Here, we use a novel expression cloning strategy to isolate a cDNA that upon transfection into 293 cell recipients mediates a robust chemotactic response to Bonzo receptor transfectants. This cDNA encoded a novel chemokine, which we term CXCL16.
Although it is, in the strictest definition, a member of the CXC
family, CXCL16 is distantly related to all known chemokines and might
be phylogenetically closer to certain
chemokines than
chemokines. Additionally, it has a novel feature that is shared with
the only known CX3C chemokine, neurotactin/fractalkine, in that
sequence predicts that it is membrane bound and suspended by a heavily
glycosylated mucin stalk (16, 17). We show that
Bonzo/CXCL16 interactions define a unique receptor ligand pair as
CXCL16 fails to bind all known chemokine receptors. We also show in
this study that this ligand functionally interacts with activated
lymphocytes and describe novel features of expression on leukocyte
subsets. These data, along with the structural features of both Bonzo
and CXCL16, indicate that this receptor ligand pair is unique among all
members of this family known to date.
| Materials and Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Medium for transfectants was standard DMEM with 10% FCS (Life Technologies, Gaithersburg, MD). L1-2 cells, a murine B cell lymphoma, were obtained from E. Butcher at Stanford University (Stanford, CA). Receptor transfectants expressing Bonzo were generated as previously described (18, 19). Chemokine receptor transfectants encoding CXCR5, CCR19, and CX3CR1 were maintained in RPMI 1649 medium (Life Technologies) with 0.88 g/L gentamicin (G418), 10% HyClone serum, 10 nM HEPES, 1% penicillin/streptomycin, 1% L-glutamine, 1 mM sodium pyruvate, and 55 nM 2-ME.
Chronically activated Th1, Tr1, and Th2 lymphocytes were prepared as previously described (20, 21) with the addition of generation of Tr1 subsets. For Tr1 lymphocytes IL-10 was used at 10 ng/ml. After initial activation in the presence of anti-CD28 and anti-CD3 mAbs Th1, Tr1, and Th2 lymphocytes were restimulated for 5 days with specific cytokines, but with the addition of anti-CD95 ligand (1 µg/ml) to prevent apoptosis. Activated Th1, Tr1, and Th2 lymphocytes were maintained in this way for a maximum of three cycles.
Tonsils were obtained from Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Cambridge, MA). Tissue was macerated with surgical scissors, mixed with DMEM (Life Technologies) and passed through a cell strainer (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ). Cells were washed three times with PBS before staining. CD4+ T cells were isolated by positive magnetic selection using CD4 microbeads (Miltenyi Biotec, Auburn, CA) and the manufacturers instructions.
PBMC were isolated by density gradient centrifugation using Lymphoprep
(Nycomed, Oslo, Norway). Monocytes were seeded into T75 flasks, allowed
to adhere, and cultured for 10 days in RPM1 1640 supplemented with 2.5
mM HEPES, 20 µg/ml gentamicin, 2 mM L-glutamine, 1%
penicillin/streptomycin, 2% nonessential amino acids, and 1 mM
sodium pyruvate (all obtained from Life Technologies). On the 10th day
of culture, cells were incubated with either 50 ng/ml LPS (Sigma, St.
Louis, MO) or 10 ng/ml TNF-
(R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) for 4 and
24 h. Supernatants were drawn off the cells and used in chemotaxis
experiments with Bonzo/L1.2 transfectants and GusB (CCR11)/L1.2
transfectants as a negative control.
MAbs reactive with Bonzo were generated by immunizing mice with L1.2 cells expressing high levels of transfected Bonzo, as previously described (19). These mAbs were screened to ensure selectivity on numerous L1.2 transfectants expressing chemokine receptors (CCR1CCR8, CXCR1CXCR5, GPR5, V28, and GPR9-6) or orphan GPCRs (Bob, LyGPR, AF, APJ, and RDC). Chemokines were obtained from R&D Systems, PeproTech (Rocky Hill, NJ), or were synthesized using an automated solid-phase peptide synthesizer using previously described methods (22). MAbs to CXCL16 were generated by immunization of BALB/C mice with the synthetic chemokine and screening for reactivity by ELISA.
FACS staining
Before the addition of primary Ab, PBMCs or tonsil cells were incubated in PBS with 5% True Clot human serum (Scantibodies, Santee, CA) and mouse IgG (Sigma) to prevent nonspecific staining. Cells were incubated for 30 min with specific mAbs or isotype controls (Sigma). FITC- or Cy5-goat anti-mouse IgG Abs (Jackson ImmunoResearch, West Grove, PA) were used as the secondary Abs at 1/200 dilutions. Abs against all surface Ags including CD4, CD14, and CD19 directly conjugated to PE were obtained from PharMingen (San Diego, CA). Cell staining was analyzed on a FACScan (Becton Dickinson) using the CellQuest program.
cDNA library expression cloning
An expression library was made from spleen mRNA purchased from Clontech Laboratories (Palo Alto, CA). cDNA was prepared as previously described (23) using synthesis reagents from Life Technologies with the exception that an ECOR1 adapter (Pharmacia, Piscataway, NJ) was ligated to the 5' end to facilitate directional cloning into the elongation factor-1 (EF1)-based vector pcDEF3. cDNA was partitioned into 96 pools of 1000 colonies each, and plasmid DNAs were prepared as previously described (23).
Transfections were performed into 293T cells as described previously (23) with the exception that 60,000 cells/well were plated in collagen-coated plates (Becton Dickinson). Approximately 18 h after transfection, medium was changed to 0.5 ml/well of standard DMEM/10% FCS. Forty-eight hours after changing medium, supernatant was harvested, cell debris was removed by microcentrifugation, and the medium was then used in chemotaxis assays.
For the chemotaxis assays in the expression-cloning screen (and with macrophage supernatants), exponentially growing Bonzo transfectants were resuspended at a density of 1 x 107/ml in an assay buffer that consisted of DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum. The cell suspension (100 µl) was placed in the upper chamber of a 24-well chemotaxis plate (Costar; Corning Glass, Corning, NY), and 0.5 ml of the supernatant from each transfected well was placed in the lower chamber. The plates were then incubated for 624 h at 37°C. Numbers of migrating cells were quantitated on a FACScan (Becton Dickinson) using the acquisition phase at 30 s. cDNA pools that, upon transfection, mediated chemotaxis above background were subsequently enriched as previously described (23).
Chemotaxis with purified CXCL16 (described below) and L1-2 receptor transfectants was identical with the set-up for expression cloning with the exception that defined concentrations of chemokines were used and the buffer was changed to 50% RPMI, 50% M199 medium, and 0.5% BSA. Chemotaxis with in vitro-derived effector cells and isolated CD4+ tonsil lymphocytes was performed using 3-µm pore diameter gelatin-coated transwell inserts followed by growth of 2 x 105 ECV304 cells as previously described (20). An aliquot of 200 µl of cell suspension (input of 8 x 105 cells) was added to each insert. After 2 h, the inserts were removed and the number of cells that had migrated through the ECV304 monolayer to the lower well was counted for 30 s on a Becton Dickinson FACScan with the gates set to acquire the cells of interest. Using this technique 100% migration would be 25,000 cells for Th1/Th2 cells, where this number represents the cells in the lower well counted on the FACScan for 1 min. In all cases the data points were the result of duplicate wells, with the mean value shown and the error bars representing the sample SD.
Sequencing and sequence analysis
Sequencing of the entire cDNA insert was accomplished in conjunction with Seqwrite (Houston, TX) and the Tufts University sequencing core facility. Overlapping primers (originally using an SP6 primer for the 3' end and a primer from the EF1 promoter for the 5' sequence) made to both strands as sequence information was gathered, resulting in complete unambiguous sequence of both strands of the insert. Sequence comparison with known chemokines was performed with the Lasergene system (DNAstar, Madison, WI), using the Clustal method with a gap penalty of 10 and a gap length penalty of 10. Pairwise alignment parameters were: ktuple = 2, gap penalty-5, window = 4, and diagonals saved = 4.
Construction and purification of recombinant CXCL16 His-tagged protein
Fusion proteins consisting of regions of CXCL16 fused to a C-terminal 5x histidine (His) were made in the pEF1/V5-His vector from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, CA) by fusion with a PCR-generated fragment containing the entire extracellular domain of CXCL16. A 5' primer starting at the initiation methionine with a BamHI site and a 3' primer ending at Val155 with an XbaI site were used in the PCR. Primer sequences are available upon request. PCR inserts were purified from agarose gels along with vector DNA digested with BamHI and XbaI and recombinants isolated by standard procedures. Maxiprep (Qiagen, Chatsworth, CA) DNA was used in transient transfections of 10-cm plates using Lipofectamine (Life Technologies). Three days after transfection, supernatant was collected and centrifuged, and the clarified supernatant was then run over 5 ml wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to agarose in a column (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). PBS was used as the wash buffer and eluted with 100 mM acetic acid (pH 2.8). The 10-ml elution was brought to pH neutrality with 5 ml 1 M Tris base (pH 10.5) and run over an nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid-agarose column (Qiagen) washed with 50 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 8), 300 mM NaCl, and 20 mM imidazole. Elution was performed with 50 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 8), 300 mM NaCl, and 250 mM imidazole in 5 x 1-ml aliquots. Samples were dialyzed using a 3-ml 10,000 m.w. cutoff Slide-a-lyzer (Pierce, Rockford, IL) into PBS overnight. OD280 readings were taken to determine the protein concentration.
A Glycoprotein Deglycosylation Kit (Calbiochem, San Diego, CA) was used to deglycosylate 2 µg of CXCL16 protein. The standard denaturing protocol was followed, and 150 ng each of untreated and deglycosylase-treated protein was run on a 420% Tris-glycine gel (Novex, San Diego, CA). Protein was transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane (Novex) and hybridized with a CXCL16 mAb (SD7). The NEN (Boston, MA) Renaissance system was used for detection.
Receptor binding assays
Exponentially growing L1.2 Bonzo transfectants were counted on the day of the assay and resuspended in binding assay buffer (BAB; 10 mM HEPES/1 mM CaCl2/5 mM MgCl2/0.5% BSA/0.05% sodium azide at 2.5 x 106/ml) at a density of 2.5 x 106/ml. Purified CXCL16 was labeled with 125I using a sodium iodide method (Amersham, Arlington Heights, IL) and diluted in BAB to 4 nM. Cold CXCL16 (in PBS at 5.3 µM) was diluted for competition in BAB to 0.4, 2, 4, 20, 40, and 400 nM. Reactions consisted, in triplicate (for a final volume of 100 µl) of 50 µl of cells (1.25 x 105 total), 25 µl 125I-CXCL16 (final concentration = 1 nM), and 25 µl cold CXCL16 serially diluted from 100 to 0 nM. The specific activity of the labeled ligand was 7.8 x 1010 nmol/cpm, total counts bound were 813.67, nonspecific counts were 222.33 resulting in 591.34 specific counts binding. For calculation of total 125I input, 50 µl cells was added to 25 µl 125I-CXCL16 and 25 µl BAB. All tubes were incubated for 1 h at room temperature. Cells were spun down at 3500 rpm and washed five times in BAB + 0.5 M NaCl. After the final wash, the cell pellet was resuspended in 100 µl wash buffer, and the 125I counts were calculated by a Cobra II Auto-Gamma scintillation counter (Packard, Meriden, CT) along with the total input sample. Binding data were calculated using a program written in Excel (L. Wu, unpublished observation).
Calcium flux assays
Bonzo/L1.2 transfectants or parental cells were washed once in PBS and resuspended in load buffer (HBSS, 20 mM HEPES, 2.5 mM probenecid, 0.1% BSA, and 1% FBS). Fluo-3 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) was dissolved in 50% DMSO/50% pluronic acid and added to the cells at a final concentration of 4 µM. Cells were incubated for 1 h at 37°C. Then, cells were washed twice in load buffer and plated into 96-well assay plates at 300,000 cells per well. The plate was spun for 5 min at 1200 rpm to pellet cells on the bottom of the well. Chemokine (50 µl) was added to a separate 96-well plate at varying concentrations to achieve final concentrations as indicated in the figure. Ca2+ mobilization was then measured on a 96-well FLIPR System (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA).
Northern and Southern blots
Human multiple tissue mRNA blots (Human I, Immune System II)
from Clontech Laboratories were used for Northern blot analysis. A
400-bp cDNA fragment representing the chemokine domain from the 5'
EcoRI site to a EcoRV site was used as the probe
template and primed with random hexamers to produce an
[
-32P]dCTP-labeled probe. Hybridization was
performed according to the manufacturers instructions with four
additional high stringency washes at 65°C in 0.1x SSC and 0.1% SDS,
and then exposed to Kodak (Rochester, NY) XAR film with an intensifying
screen. Blots were stripped and reprobed with a
-actin probe, the
template of which was provided by the blot manufacturer.
For Southern blots, human genomic DNA (15 µg/reaction; Clontech Laboratories) was digested by BamHI, EcoRI, and HindIII and run on a 1.4% agarose gel. DNA was transferred to a Protran nitrocellulose membrane (Schleicher & Schuell, Keene, NH) and cross-linked with a Stratalinker. The probe template was the same as for the Northern blots. The blot was washed three times for 30 min at 60°C in 1x SSC and 0.1% SDS, and was exposed to film for 2 days at room temperature.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
L1.2 Bonzo transfectants were tested in chemotaxis assays against
a panel of all known chemokine receptor ligands (along with orphan
chemokines), and no response was noted in any physiological dose range
(data not shown). As this data suggested that Bonzo likely binds an
unknown ligand, we subsequently devised a strategy whereby we could
transfect pools of cDNAs, harvest supernatants, and ask whether we
could detect a chemotactic response. As Bonzo had previously been shown
to be highly expressed in spleen (13, 14), an expression
library was constructed from spleen mRNA. Transient transfection of 96
pools (representing
1000 independent clones/pool) revealed one pool
with a response above background. Subsequent rounds of enrichment
increased the activity, and eventual deconvolution resulted in a single
cDNA clone that, upon transfection, mediated a robust chemotactic
response to Bonzo receptor transfectants (data not shown).
Sequence analysis reveals a novel chemokine
The isolated cDNA revealed a large open reading frame of 254 aa
with an N-terminal hydrophobic predicted signal peptide of 27 aa (Fig. 1
A). The signal peptide is
followed by 90 residues with a total of six cysteines, with an
N-terminal CYC motif consistent with members of the
chemokine
family (1, 3). The predicted chemokine domain is followed
by a region that is largely composed of S/T/G/P residues (37/84 aa or
44%), which is the hallmark of a mucin domain (23),
followed by a hydrophobic membrane spanning a region of 25 residues and
a short 28-residue cytoplasmic tail, containing two additional
cysteines in each of these regions. This overall structure is similar
to the one CX3C chemokine, fractalkine/neurotactin (16, 17), while a C-terminal mucin-like region has also been observed
for JE (murine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) (24).
Although this protein must be shed or proteolytically cleaved for
chemotactic activity, there are no known dibasic cleavage sites before
the transmembrane region.
|
chemokines shows it is distantly related to all CXC
chemokines with the best homology with stromal cell-derived factor
(SDF)-1 at 18.8% (Fig. 1
at 22%; 2)
similarity to Eskine/CTAK and Teck in having 27 residues between
Cys 2 and 3, while this loop is generally no longer than 24 residues in
all other chemokines (25); and 3) a relationship to
secondary lymphoid chemokine (SLC)/6-C-Kine in having six cysteine
residues in its chemokine domain (26, 27). Due to the CYC
motif, we provisionally refer to this protein as a novel CXC chemokine
termed CXCL16 (28) and we propose to rename
STRL33/BONZO/TYMSTR as CXCR6. Expression of CXCL16 RNA and Southern blot analysis
To examine the tissue distribution of CXCL16, Northern blots were
probed with a fragment encompassing the chemokine domain (Fig. 2
A). A band of
2.4 kb was
seen with the highest expression in lung, liver, fetal liver, spleen,
and peripheral blood leukocytes. Lower levels of expression were also
observed in kidney, pancreas, lymph nodes, and placenta. Reprobing
these blots with a probe corresponding to the full length CXCL16 cDNA
resulted in extreme multiple banding, most likely due to repeat
sequences found in the 3'-most end of the cDNA and parts of the mucin
sequences as well (data not shown). Additionally, prior exposure of the
blot before more stringent washes revealed the presence of other sized
RNA species in certain tissues, indicating the possibility that related
genes are expressed in some of the tissues examined (data not
shown).
|
CXCL16 is expressed on the surface of leukocyte subsets and functional CXCL16 is shed from macrophages
Although sequence analysis suggests that CXCL16 can be presented
as a cell surface molecule, we could not detect surface expression of
CXCL16 on our 293 transfectants (data not shown). As Northern blot
analysis showed high expression in peripheral blood leukocytes, we
asked whether we could detect cell surface expression of CXCL16 on any
leukocyte subsets. Staining was observed on subsets of
CD19+ and CD14+ peripheral
blood leukocytes, indicating that APCs including B cells and
monocyte/macrophages express this chemokine as a cell surface ligand
(Fig. 3
A). Although there was
considerable variation in the percentage of each cell type expressing
CXCL16, this general staining pattern was observed in all donors
examined (Fig. 3
B). These observations raise the possibility
that cell-cell contacts between activated T cell subsets known to
express CXCR6 and APCs expressing CXCL16 might result in
subset-specific immune responses. In addition to peripheral blood we
also examined expression in tonsils and also found that subsets of
CD19+ B cells stained specifically with anti
CXCL16 mAbs (Fig. 3
C), suggesting that in settings of
chronic inflammation CXCL16 might participate in cell-cell interactions
as well.
|
(data not shown). After
4 h, minimal chemotactic activity was seen above background, with
no discernable difference between supernatants from unstimulated and
stimulated cells. However, after 24 h, significant increase in
activity was seen that was moderately increased by LPS and increased by
2-fold in the presence of TNF-
, whereas control orphan GPCR
(GusB/CCR11) transfectants fail to chemotax (Fig. 4
|
CXCR6 was originally cloned from activated T lymphocytes, and
recent reports have demonstrated the expression of CXCR6 on activated
CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte
subsets along with NK cells (13, 14, 29, 30, 31). To look at
expression and function of Bonzo in activated T cells, we generated T
helper subsets by polarization in the presence of specific Th1, Th2,
and Tr1 cytokines in conditions of repeated rounds of cytokine
stimulation to mimic settings of chronic inflammation
(21). Upon initial expansion in the presence of Th1, Th2,
or Tr1 cytokines, we observed expression of CCR7 on all subsets,
whereas CCR4 (as previously demonstrated) is only expressed on Th2
cells, and CXCL16 was low or undetected on all subsets (Fig. 5
A). Upon multiple rounds of
cytokine stimulation, levels of CCR7 were reduced in all subsets,
suggesting a transition to a memory phenotype, whereas CCR4 expression
was greatly increased on Th2 cells. CXCR6 expression was also greatly
increased on all three subsets, indicating that CXCR6 expression might
mark effector cells in settings of chronic inflammation (Fig. 5
A). Upon examination of chemokine responsiveness, we
observed that all three subsets subjected to multiple rounds of
cytokine stimulation respond to RANTES, a ligand for both CCR5 and CCR1
(which marks all subsets), whereas only Th2 cells migrate in response
to the CCR4 ligand macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) (Fig. 5
B). All three subsets migrate with similar efficiency to
CXCL16, showing that CXCR6 is functional on effector T cell
subsets.
|
|
To further examine chemokine binding and receptor specificity, a
recombinant form of CXCL16 was constructed into a fusion protein, which
encompassed the entire predicted extracellular domain fused to a
C-terminal polyhistidine sequence. Although CXCL16 has only one
predicted N-linked glycosylation site (NETT at resides
168171), we do predict a heavily glycosylated mucin sequence that is
likely to be rich in O-linked glycans. The expression
construct encoding recombinant CXCL16 was transfected into 293T cells
and purified over successive wheat germ agglutinin and
nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid columns. Western blotting with a
polyclonal Ab to the chemokine domain detects a prominent species of
Mr of
40 kDa, which is twice
the size of the predicted protein backbone of
Mr 19 kDa. Treatment of the
recombinant protein with a mixture of deglycosidases including
N-glycosidase F,
endo-
-N-acetylgalactosaminidase,
23,6,8,9-neuraminidase, B1,4-galactosidase, and
-N-acetylglucosaminidase resulted in a significant
increase in mobility and a shift in Mr
from 40 to 23 kDa (Fig. 7
). This verifies
the prediction that CXCL16, similar to fractalkine, is highly
glycosylated (16).
|
Purified CXCL16 was tested in a chemotaxis assay and exhibited a
robust response to CXCR6-L1-2 transfectants, showing a typical
bell-shaped response with peak activity ranging from 10 to 50 nM (Fig. 8
A). CXCL16 was then tested in
a chemotaxis assay against a panel of all known chemokine receptors
including CCR1-9, CXCR1-5, and CX3CR1. Although known ligands for these
receptors exhibited a robust response in this assay (data not shown),
recombinant CXCL16 failed to mediate a response to any receptor other
than CXCR6 at all concentrations tested (Fig. 8
B). Although
this experiment does not exclude the possibility that CXCL16 might bind
to these (and other nonchemokine-binding GPCRs), these data clearly
illustrate that, for known chemokine receptors, only CXCR6 functionally
responds to CXCL16. We next asked whether CXCL16 could specifically
signal a rise in intracellular calcium in the CXCR6-transfected cell
line. CXCL16 mediates a dose-dependent rise in intracellular calcium
that is similar to that seen for SDF-1
, the ligand for CXCR4, which
is expressed on L1-2 cells (Fig. 8
C). As a control, parental
L1-2 cells only responded to SDF-1
, showing that CXCR6 can
specifically signal in response to CXCL16.
|
4000
binding sites/transfectant, indicating that CXCL16 is a high affinity,
selective ligand for CXCR6 (Fig. 9
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
CXCR6 has close homology to CCR7 and CCR9, which is of interest as SLC and Teck, which share some structural similarity to CXCL16, bind to these receptors, respectively (4, 8, 20, 33). Additionally, CXCR6 has been localized to chromosome 3, which clusters with other CC receptors as well. CXCL16 has been identified on a first pass sequence of a genomic fragment from chromosome 17, meaning that CXCL16 would localize with CC, and not CXC, chemokines. This genomic fragment (AC015913) is 100% similar to the CXCL16 cDNA over bp 77220 (residues 2775). Based on the intron-exon structure of several other CC and CXC chemokines, this region corresponds to the predicted second exon of the chemokine region of CXCL16. Therefore, although we use the definition of the CYC motif in the N terminus to call CXCL16 a CXC chemokine, one might want to consider the possibility that this is a completely novel class of chemokine that does not fall into any single system of classification.
Although CXCR6 is phylogenetically related to chemokine receptors, it is structurally diverse in that it lacks cysteine residues in the N terminus and the third extracellular loop that are conserved in all other receptors to date (14). One might postulate that CXCR6, due to the loss of a critical disulfide bond, has a unique membrane topology and therefore might bind to a structurally unique chemokine. Interestingly, a shorter synthetic version CXCL16, truncated at S95 before the fifth and sixth cysteine residues, lacks the potency of the entire extracellular region and appears to be unstable at higher temperatures or pH (data not shown). In contrast, other chemokines that have been similarly truncated, such as Teck and fractalkine, retain activity (D. Soler, unpublished data), suggesting the possibility that the extra cysteine residues in the chemokine domain are critical for overall structure and binding to this novel receptor. We have shown by HPLC analysis that synthetic truncated CXCL16 shows deficiencies in efficient folding (data not shown), which might require these residues as well. Although these extra cysteine residues might be critical for efficient folding, it is also possible that, due to the unique features of CXCR6, this receptor ligand interaction might be completely unique and require residues that have not been required for other chemokines studied thus far.
CXCL16 is the second example of a chemokine that has the sequence of a
transmembrane protein and would be predicted to be expressed on the
cell surface. Interestingly, our attempts to show expression on the 293
cells (and Chinese hamster ovary cell transfectants) failed to
demonstrate cell surface expression of CXCL16 and likely explains our
success in the identification of a soluble active form derived from a
membrane-bound chemokine. This suggests that in certain settings, the
chemokine can be efficiently shed into the surrounding medium;
accordingly, we did observe functional activity from
supernatants derived from cultured macrophages. This activity was
increased in the presence of LPS and TNF-
, indicating that CXCL16
may be rapidly shed from the cell surface and participate in
recruitment of lymphocyte subpopulation to sites of both immune and
inflammatory responses. It is possible that mechanisms of shedding in a
particular microenvironment may represent a level of control of
CXCL16-mediated physiological responses.
Additionally, we observed cell surface expression on subsets of peripheral blood leukocytes including CD19+ B cells and CD14+ monocytes. This expression pattern suggests that novel interactions might occur between APCs and CXCR6 expressed on activated T cell subsets, thus raising the possibility that immune responses may be facilitated by direct interactions mediated between cell types expressing this receptor ligand pair. This expression pattern also raises the possibility that other CD14-derived cells, such as monocyte-derived dendritic cells, might express this ligand as well. Along these lines, we have observed expression of CXCL16 in subsets (with a similar staining pattern to what we observe in macrophages) of monocyte-derived dendritic cells, cultured in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF (data not shown). This, to some extent, parallels observations showing expression of murine CXCL16 in spleen- and lymph node-derived dendritic cells and indicates similarity in observations between these studies (32). Conversely, expression of murine CXCL16 in B cells was not reported in that study although this does not preclude the possibility that expression might be seen there as well, as it may have yet to be examined.
Expression of the other known membrane-bound chemokine, CX3CL1 (fractalkine/neurotactin), has also been shown on dendritic cells in epidermis and lymphoid tissues (34, 35). CX3CL1 is also chemotactic for activated T cells and may play a role in recruitment and adhesion of T cells to secondary lymphoid tissues and directly interact with T cells in immune responses. Therefore, CXCL16 may represent a second member of the chemokine family that can play a dual role in recruitment and retention of lymphocyte subsets. Other chemokines, such as MDC, have been shown to be expressed by dendritic cells and play a role in attracting activated T cell subsets (36). MDC and fractalkine both map to chromosome 16q13 (35). Although CXCL16 might share some functional relationship with these chemokines, it appears to reside on chromosome 17 and, therefore, does not map to a chromosome encoding either these chemokines or CXC chemokines as well, further illustrating the unique nature of this new ligand.
We have observed CXCL16 expression on tonsil-derived CD19+s and CXCR6 expression on tonsil CD4+s. This observation raises the possibility that, within secondary lymphoid tissue, B cells expressing CXCL16 might be activated by a T cell-dependent process. MDC and fractalkine have also been shown to be expressed by activated B cells as well (36, 37), although expression of fractalkine was observed only at the RNA level. This is the first report of surface expression of a chemokine on a B cell suggesting that binding between this surface-encoded chemokine and its cognate receptor on T cells might contribute to T cell activation. These B cell/T cell interactions may occur after CXCR6+ T cell/dendritic cell interactions have been initiated, and it is possible that CXCL16 may play a role in both of these steps. As the cytoplasmic tail of CXCL16 has a number of potential phosphorylation sites, it will also be of interest to see whether interactions with CXCR6 result in signals transmitted through this chemokine, thus mediating signals in APCs in a novel manner.
Although chemokines have been classified on the basis of the structure
surrounding the N-terminal cysteine residues, another classification
has emerged as of late, subdividing chemokines into either homeostatic
(lymphoid) or inflammatory, based on their site of production and cell
types that respond to them. Certain chemokines are produced in lymphoid
tissues such as BCA-1 (in stromal cells in B cell follicles) and SLC
(in high endothelial venules and by stromal cells in T cells)
(26, 27, 38). Others are more known to attract activated
leukocytes and are induced by inflammatory stimuli including IL-8,
RANTES, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, MIP-1
, and eotaxin
(among others) (39, 40, 41, 42), which are all known to be more
highly expressed at sites of inflammation. Although many chemokines
fall into these categories, some do not clearly fit either paradigm.
MDC, in addition to having a role in secondary lymphoid tissue,
has also been shown to be produced in inflamed lungs (43, 44). CXL16 might prove to be a dual-function chemokine as well,
as its expression is shown here to be in secondary lymphoid tissues and
in addition in nonlymphoid tissues, most notably in liver and lung
tissues. Additionally, we show that activated T cell subsets including
chronic Th1, Th2, Tr1, and CD4+ T cells derived
from tonsil functionally respond to this chemokine. The observations of
surface expression of CXCL16 on APCs suggest a potential homeostatic
role in lymphoid tissue, whereas the functional interaction with
polarized effector cells suggests a role in chronic inflammation
as well.
As the sequencing of the genome becomes complete, the concept of "novel sequence identification" is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. There is now a new challenge to assign function of thousands of expressed sequenced clones where classification via conventional means is not possible. CXCL16 was represented in the database as an expressed sequence tag for 5 years, but due to lack of homology could not be identified by searching with related sequences. Although newer searching algorithms that use secondary structure and pattern predictions might solve some of this dilemma, the cloning of this chemokine raises the possibility that several other functionally relevant proteins of this class might also be identified in this manner. The isolation of this structurally unique chemokine and demonstration of binding to a novel chemokine receptor (the first to lack cysteine residues previously considered essential for function) breaks all known paradigms for known chemokine receptor/ligand interactions. Additionally, the observation of both surface expression of CXCL16 on APCs and shedding of active soluble material raises the possibility that this chemokine might play dual roles in inflammation and homeostasis.
Note added in proof.
While in revision it came to our attention that in an attempt to use expression cloning from monocytes to isolate novel receptors binding to OxLDL, a cDNA encoding a receptor termed SR-PSOX (scavenger receptor that binds phosphatidylserine and oxidized lipoprotein) was identified. This cDNA turns out to encode CXCL16, further illustrating the possibility of additional functional roles of this protein.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
| Footnotes |
|---|
2 Current address: CuraGen Corporation, 322 East Main Street, Branford, CT 06405. ![]()
3 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Michael J. Briskin, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sidney Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. ![]()
4 Abbreviations used in this paper: CXCR, CXC chemokine receptor; GPCR, G protein-coupled receptor; BAB, binding assay buffer; MDC, macrophage-derived chemokine; MIP, macrophage-inflammatory protein; SDF, stromal cell-derived factor; SLC, secondary lymphoid chemokine; EF1, elongation factor-1. ![]()
Received for publication November 27, 2000. Accepted for publication February 5, 2001.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
4
7-integrin binding domains of murine MAdCAM-1, but extreme divergence of mucin-like sequences. J. Immunol. 156:2851.[Abstract]
-chemokine is
differentially spliced to produce secretable and nuclear targeted
isoforms. J. Biol. Chem.
chemokine containing six conserved cysteines. J. Immunol. 159:1589.[Abstract]
. J. Exp. Med. 168:2251.This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
S. H. Yang, S. J. Kim, N. Kim, J. E. Oh, J. G. Lee, N. H. Chung, S. Kim, and Y. S. Kim NKT Cells Inhibit the Development of Experimental Crescentic Glomerulonephritis J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., September 1, 2008; 19(9): 1663 - 1671. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
E. Germanov, L. Veinotte, R. Cullen, E. Chamberlain, E. C. Butcher, and B. Johnston Critical Role for the Chemokine Receptor CXCR6 in Homeostasis and Activation of CD1d-Restricted NKT Cells J. Immunol., July 1, 2008; 181(1): 81 - 91. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. Smith, B. Halvorsen, K. Otterdal, T. Waehre, A. Yndestad, B. Fevang, W. J. Sandberg, U. M. Breland, S. S. Froland, E. Oie, et al. High levels and inflammatory effects of soluble CXC ligand 16 (CXCL16) in coronary artery disease: down-regulatory effects of statins Cardiovasc Res, July 1, 2008; 79(1): 195 - 203. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Meijer, J. Ogink, B. Kreike, D. Nuyten, K. E. de Visser, and E. Roos The Chemokine Receptor CXCR6 and Its Ligand CXCL16 Are Expressed in Carcinomas and Inhibit Proliferation Cancer Res., June 15, 2008; 68(12): 4701 - 4708. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |