LIME, a novel transmembrane adaptor protein, associates with p56lck and mediates T cell activation

In this study, we identify and characterize a novel transmembrane adaptor protein, designated Lck-interacting membrane protein (LIME), as a binding partner of the Lck Src homology (SH)2 domain. LIME possesses a short extracellular domain, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail containing five tyrosine-based motifs. The protein is primarily expressed in hematopoietic cells and lung. Interestingly, LIME expression is up-regulated by TCR stimulation and sustained up to 24 h, suggesting that LIME acts throughout the early to late stages of T cell activation. LIME is localized to membrane rafts and distributed within the T cell-APC contact site. Upon TCR stimulation of Jurkat T cells, LIME associates with Lck as a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein. Experiments using Jurkat T cells expressing CD8-LIME chimera reveal that the protein associates with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Grb2, Gads, and SHP2, and activates ERK1/2 and JNK but not p38. Moreover, overexpression of LIME in Jurkat T cells induces transcriptional activation of the IL-2 promoter. Our data collectively show that LIME is a raft-associated transmembrane adaptor protein linking TCR stimuli to downstream signaling pathways via associations with Lck.