Abstract
Ligand binding to Toll-like receptors (TLRs) results in dimerization of their cytosolic Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domains and recruitment of post-receptor signal transducers into a complex signalosome. TLR activation leads to the production of transcription factors and pro-inflammatory molecules and the activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K) in a process that requires the multimodular B-cell adaptor for phosphoinositide 3-kinase (BCAP). BCAP has a sequence previously proposed as a "cryptic" TIR domain. Here, we present the structure of the N-terminal region of human BCAP and show that it possesses a canonical TIR fold. Dimeric BCAP associates with the TIR domains of TLR2/4 and MAL/TIRAP, suggesting that it is recruited to the TLR signalosome by multitypic TIR-TIR interactions. BCAP also interacts with the p85 subunit of PI3K and phospholipase Cγ, enzymes that deplete plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), and these interactions provide a molecular explanation for BCAP-mediated down-regulation of inflammatory signaling.