Endoplasmic reticulum-resident E3 ubiquitin ligase Hrd1 controls B-cell immunity through degradation of the death receptor CD95/Fas

S Kong, Y Yang, Y Xu, Y Wang… - Proceedings of the …, 2016 - National Acad Sciences
S Kong, Y Yang, Y Xu, Y Wang, Y Zhang, J Melo-Cardenas, X Xu, B Gao, EB Thorp
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016National Acad Sciences
Humoral immunity involves multiple checkpoints during B-cell development, maturation, and
activation. The cell death receptor CD95/Fas-mediated apoptosis plays a critical role in
eliminating the unwanted activation of B cells by self-reactive antigens and in maintaining B-
cell homeostasis through activation-induced B-cell death (AICD). The molecular
mechanisms controlling AICD remain largely undefined. Herein, we show that the E3
ubiquitin ligase Hrd1 protected B cells from activation-induced cell death by degrading the …
Humoral immunity involves multiple checkpoints during B-cell development, maturation, and activation. The cell death receptor CD95/Fas-mediated apoptosis plays a critical role in eliminating the unwanted activation of B cells by self-reactive antigens and in maintaining B-cell homeostasis through activation-induced B-cell death (AICD). The molecular mechanisms controlling AICD remain largely undefined. Herein, we show that the E3 ubiquitin ligase Hrd1 protected B cells from activation-induced cell death by degrading the death receptor Fas. Hrd1-null B cells exhibited high Fas expression during activation and rapidly underwent Fas-mediated apoptosis, which could be largely inhibited by FasL neutralization. Fas mutation in Hrd1 KO mice abrogated the increase in B-cell AICD. We identified Hrd1 as the first E3 ubiquitin ligase of the death receptor Fas and Hrd1-mediated Fas destruction as a molecular mechanism in regulating B-cell immunity.
National Acad Sciences