Abstract
Activation of resting T lymphocytes initiates differentiation into mature effector cells over 3-7 days. The chemokine CCL5 (RANTES) and its major transcriptional regulator, Krüppel-like factor 13 (KLF13), are expressed late (3-5 days) after activation in T lymphocytes. Using yeast two-hybrid screening of a human thymus cDNA library, PRP4, a serine/threonine protein kinase, was identified as a KLF13-binding protein. Specific interaction of KLF13 and PRP4 was confirmed by reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation. PRP4 is expressed in PHA-stimulated human T lymphocytes from days 1 and 7 with a peak at day 3. Using an in vitro kinase assay, it was found that PRP4 phosphorylates KLF13. Furthermore, although phosphorylation of KLF13 by PRP4 results in lower binding affinity to the A/B site of the CCL5 promoter, coexpression of PRP4 and KLF13 increases nuclear localization of KLF13 and CCL5 transcription. Finally, knock-down of PRP4 by small interfering RNA markedly decreases CCL5 expression in T lymphocytes. Thus, PRP4-mediated phosphorylation of KLF13 plays a role in the regulation of CCL5 expression in T lymphocytes.