RANTES and MIP-1α activate stats in T cells

The chemokines RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) and MIP (macrophage inflammatory protein)-1 alpha have been implicated in regulating T cell functions. RANTES-induced T cell activation is apparently mediated via two distinct signal transduction cascades: one linked to recruitment of pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins and the other linked to protein-tyrosine kinase activation. In this report, we identified that the transcription factors Stat1 and Stat3 (for signal transducers and activators of transcription) are rapidly activated in T cells in response to RANTES and MIP-1 alpha. Nuclear extracts from MOLT-4 and Jurkat T cells treated with RANTES or MIP-1 alpha contain tyrosine-phosphorylated Stat1:1 and Stat1:3 dimers that exhibit DNA-binding activity. We demonstrated that RANTES and MIP-1 alpha treatment of Jurkat cells resulted in transcriptional activation of a Stat-inducible gene, c-fos, with kinetics consistent with Stat activation by these chemokines. RANTES and MIP-1 alpha mediate their effects via shared chemokine receptors (CCRs): CCR1, CCR4, and CCR5. Our data revealed a concordance between chemokine-induced Stat activation and c-fos induction and CCR4 and CCR5 expression. These findings indicate that chemokine-mediated activation of G-protein-coupled receptors leads to signal transduction that invokes intracellular phosphorylation intermediates used by other cytokine receptors.