Figure 1.
NFAT activation following TCR stimulation. TCR stimulation leads to calcium flux and additional signaling events that result in the activation of calcineurin, a Ca+2-calmodulin–dependent phosphatase that dephosphorylates NFAT proteins, enabling their movement to the nucleus (NFATc1-c4). Once in the nucleus, NFATc1 to NFATc4 cooperate with various coactivators (NFATn) to promote gene transcription. NFAT kinases, such as GSK-3, rephosphorylate NFATc1 to c4, thus leading to their relocalization to the cytoplasm.
