Ligation of the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily expressed in T and B cells, results in T cell activation and Th1 cytokine production. SAP is a small cytoplasmic protein expressed in T- and NK cells that controls the activation signals mediated by SLAM. On T cell activation, SAP binds to Fyn kinase; Fyn is activated and phosphorylates tyrosine residues on SLAM; phosphorylation results in the formation of a complex that selectively down-regulates co-stimulatory signals in activated T cells, resulting in inhibition of IFN-γ production. Thus SAP acts as a natural suppressor of SLAM-mediated T cell activation, and, in the absence of SAP, T cells are constitutively activated and overproduce IFN-γ. Mutations in the SAP gene lead to abnormal T cell activation and enhanced Th1 cytokine production in mouse models and in humans: about half of patients with X-linked lympoproliferative disease (XLP) have functionally disabling SAP mutations. Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a bone marrow failure syndrome in which hematopoietic cell destruction is effected by cytotoxic T cells and type 1 cytokines. We have recently shown that T cells from patients with AA have increased protein levels of T-bet, resulting in IFN-γ overproduction (
Solomou EE et al, Blood 2006; 107:3983
). IFN-γ inhibits hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and induces Fas-mediated apoptosis; stem cell depletion results in marrow hypoplasia and peripheral blood pancytopenia. We examined SAP expression as an explanation for aberrant T cell activation and extreme Th1 polarization. SAP protein expression on immunoblot was very low to absent in unstimulated T cells from 16 of 20 AA patients examined, as compared to normal levels of expression in equivalent numbers of healthy donors (p<0.001). No significant differences were detected in Fyn and SLAM protein levels between AA and controls. SAP mRNA levels were also significantly decreased in T cells from those AA patients with low SAP protein levels, as determined by RT-PCR. Peripheral blood DNA samples from 18 patients with AA were analyzed for SAP mutations: three novel intronic mutations, not present in controls, were identified among 7 unrelated patients: one mutation was in the promoter region of SAP (position 106, C to T; 3 patients), and two mutations in the intron-exon junction between exons 1 and 2 (position 38975, C toT; 3 patients) and 3 and 4 (position 62771, C to A; 1 patient). IFN-γ, as measured by ELISA, in three patients with undetectable SAP protein levels was significantly increased compared to healthy controls (n=5, p<0.001). Increased IFN-γ levels and Th1 polarization in AA can in part be explained by functional SAP deficiency. SAP-deficient T cells in AA would be unable to block co-stimulatory signals, leading to an activated T cell phenotype and ultimately hematopoietic cell destruction and bone marrow failure. The SAP-deficient phenotype in T cells from patients with aplastic anemia may be secondary to subtle genetic alteration in the gene’s regulation (abnormal promoter binding sites or epigenetic modulation due to mutations in introns) or as yet unidentified aberrant upstream pathways (Ets-1 and Ets-2, the transcription factors that regulate SAP expression).
Disclosure: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
