Association of Raf with the CD3 delta and gamma chains of the T cell receptor-CD3 complex.

Abstract

Protein kinases and phosphatases play an important role in signal transduction. In the T cell, activation via the T cell receptor-CD3 complex results in rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins, as well as subsequent increases in serine/threonine phosphorylation. The Raf serine/threonine kinase has been implicated in many receptor signaling pathways, including those of platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, insulin, and interleukin-2 receptors. We show here that Raf is associated with the T cell receptor-CD3 complex in unstimulated murine T cells. Using a COS cell expression system, we show that a hypophosphorylated form of Raf specifically associates with the CD3 gamma and delta chains but not with the CD3 epsilon or zeta chains. These results suggest that Raf mediates signal transduction from the gamma and delta chains of the T cell receptor-CD3 complex, analogous to the role played by ZAP-70 in signal transduction mediated by the zeta chain.