A large Rab GTPase encoded by CRACR2A is a component of subsynaptic vesicles that transmit T cell activation signals

Recruitment of intracellular vesicles containing the large GTPase CRACR2A to the immunological synapse mediates T cell receptor signaling. Recruiting vesicles to activate T cells T cell activation by antigens involves the formation of a complex, highly dynamic, yet organized signaling complex at the site of the T cell receptors (TCRs). Srikanth et al. found that the lymphocyte-specific large guanosine triphosphatase of the Rab family CRACR2A-a associated with vesicles near the Golgi in unstimulated mouse and human CD4+ T cells. Upon TCR activation, these vesicles moved to the immunological synapse (the contact region between a T cell and an antigen-presenting cell). The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1 at the TCR complex recruited CRACR2A-a to the complex. Without CRACR2A-a, T cell activation was compromised because of defective calcium and kinase signaling. More than 60 members of the Rab family of guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) exist in the human genome. Rab GTPases are small proteins that are primarily involved in the formation, trafficking, and fusion of vesicles. We showed that CRACR2A (Ca2+ release–activated Ca2+ channel regulator 2A) encodes a lymphocyte-specific large Rab GTPase that contains multiple functional domains, including EF-hand motifs, a proline-rich domain (PRD), and a Rab GTPase domain with an unconventional prenylation site. Through experiments involving gene silencing in cells and knockout mice, we demonstrated a role for CRACR2A in the activation of the Ca2+ and c-Jun N-terminal kinase signaling pathways in response to T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Vesicles containing this Rab GTPase translocated from near the Golgi to the immunological synapse formed between a T cell and a cognate antigen-presenting cell to activate these signaling pathways. The interaction between the PRD of CRACR2A and the guanidine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1 was required for the accumulation of these vesicles at the immunological synapse. Furthermore, we demonstrated that GTP binding and prenylation of CRACR2A were associated with its localization near the Golgi and its stability. Our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized function of a large Rab GTPase and vesicles near the Golgi in TCR signaling. Other GTPases with similar domain architectures may have similar functions in T cells.