Activation of the Ancestral Polarity Regulator Protein Kinase Cζ at the Immunological Synapse Drives Polarization of Th Cell Secretory Machinery toward APCs

A key feature in T lymphocyte biology is that Th cells rapidly polarize their secretory machinery toward cognate APCs. The molecular mechanisms of these dynamic Th cell responses and their impact on APC biology remain to be elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that protein kinase C zeta (PKC zeta) is rapidly activated at the immunological synapse (IS) in human Th cells interacting with cognate dendritic cells (DCs) and that a functional PKC zeta is required for the polarization of Th cell secretory machinery toward DCs. We also show that PKC zeta-dependent Th cell polarization allows dedicated delivery of IFN-gamma and CD40L at the IS and is required for the activation of cognate DCs to IL-12 production. PKC zeta synaptic activation is a low-threshold phenomenon and, in Th cells interacting with multiple DCs, selectively occurs at the IS formed with the DCs offering the strongest stimulus leading to dedicated Th cell polarization. Our results identify the PKC zeta signaling pathway as a key component of the Th cell polarization machinery and provide a molecular basis for T cell-dedicated activation of cognate DCs. The Journal of Immunology, 2010, 185: 2887-2894.