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The DEK nuclear autoantigen is a secreted chemotactic factor

Nirit Mor-Vaknin1, Antonello Punturieri, Kajal Sitwala

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0640, USA.

Molecular and Cellular Biology
|October 13, 2006
PubMed

Insights

The nuclear protein DEK is secreted by macrophages and acts as a chemoattractant, attracting immune cells to sites of inflammation. This finding suggests a direct role for the DEK autoantigen in inflammatory processes.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • The DEK protein is a nuclear DNA-binding protein involved in gene regulation.
  • DEK has been identified as an autoantigen implicated in various cellular processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the extracellular role and secretion of the DEK protein.
  • To determine if DEK functions as a signaling molecule in inflammatory conditions.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of DEK secretion from macrophages.
  • Detection of DEK in synovial fluid from juvenile arthritis patients.
  • Investigating DEK's chemoattractant properties for immune cells.

Main Results:

  • DEK is actively secreted by macrophages and found in synovial fluid of juvenile arthritis patients.
  • DEK secretion is regulated by specific signaling molecules and inhibited by certain drugs.
  • DEK is secreted both freely and within exosomes, and it attracts neutrophils, CD8+ T cells, and NK cells.

Conclusions:

  • The DEK autoantigen, previously considered strictly nuclear, is secreted and functions as an extracellular chemoattractant.
  • These findings suggest a direct role for DEK in mediating inflammatory responses.
  • DEK's secretion in exosomes represents a novel mechanism for extracellular protein transport.

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