Vav1 increases Bcl-2 expression by selective activation of Rac2-Akt in leukemia T cells

Vav proteins are guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that activate a group of small G proteins (GTPases). Vav1 is predominantly expressed in hematopoietic cells, whereas Vav2 and Vav3 are ubiquitously distributed in almost all human tissues. All three Vav proteins contain conserved structural motifs and associate with a variety of cellular activities including proliferation, migration, and survival. Previous observation with Jurkat leukemia T cells showed that Vav1 possessed anti-apoptotic activity by enhancing Bcl-2 transcription. However the mechanism has not been unveiled. Here, we explored the effectors of Vav1 in promoting Bcl-2 expression in Jurkat cells and revealed that Rac2-Akt was specifically evoked by the expression of Vav1, but not Vav2 or Vav3. Although all three Vav isoforms existed in Jurkat cells, Rac2 was distinguishably activated by Vav1 and that led to enhanced Bcl-2 expression and cell survival. Akt was modulated downstream of Vav1-Rac2, and the activation of Akt was indispensable in the enhanced transcription of Bcl-2. Intriguingly, neither Vav2 nor Vav3 was able to activate Rac2-Akt pathway as determined by gene silencing approach. Our data illustrated a unique role of Vav1 in T leukemia survival by selectively triggering Rac2-Akt axis and elevating the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2.