TCR-induced Akt serine 473 phosphorylation is regulated by protein kinase C-alpha

Akt signaling plays a central role in T cell functions, such as proliferation, apoptosis, and regulatory T cell development. Phosphorylation at Ser473 in the hydrophobic motif, along with Thr308 in its activation loop, is considered necessary for Akt function. It is widely accepted that phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK-1) phosphorylates Akt at Thr308, but the kinase(s) responsible for phosphorylating Akt at Ser473 (PDK-2) remains elusive. The existence of PDK-2 is considered to be specific to cell type and stimulus. PDK-2 in T cells in response to TCR stimulation has not been clearly defined. In this study, we found that conventional PKC positively regulated TCR-induced Akt Ser473 phosphorylation. PKC-alpha purified from T cells can phosphorylate Akt at Ser473 in vitro upon TCR stimulation. Knockdown of PKC-alpha in T-cell-line Jurkat cells reduced TCR-induced phosphorylation of Akt as well as its downstream targets. Thus our results suggest that PKC-alpha is a candidate for PDK-2 in T cells upon TCR stimulation.

Research highlights
► Conventional PKC positively regulates TCR-induced phosphorylation of Akt.
► PKC-alpha is the PDK-2 responsible for phosphorylating Akt at Ser473 upon TCR stimulation.
► Knockdown of PKC-alpha decreases TCR-induced Akt phosphorylation.