Description
The present study reports an unbiased analysis of the cytotoxic T cell serine-threonine phosphoproteome using high resolution mass spectrometry. Approximately 2,000 phosphorylations were identified in CTLs of which approximately 450 were controlled by TCR signaling. A significantly overrepresented group of molecules identified in the phosphoproteomic screen were transcription activators, co-repressors and chromatin regulators. A focus on the chromatin regulators revealed that CTLs have high expression of the histone deacetylase HDAC7 but continually phosphorylate and export this transcriptional repressor from the nucleus. HDAC7 dephosphorylation results in its nuclear accumulation and suppressed expression of genes encoding key cytokines, cytokine receptors and adhesion molecules that determine CTL function. The screening of the CTL phosphoproteome thus reveals intrinsic pathways of serine-threonine phosphorylation that target chromatin regulators in CTLs and determine the CTL functional program. We used Affymetrix microarray analysis to explore the molecular basis for the role of HDAC7 in CTLs and the impact of GFP-HDAC7 phosphorylation deficient mutant expression on the CTL transcriptional profile.