T-cell receptor-induced JNK activation requires proteolytic inactivation of CYLD by MALT1

The paracaspase mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue 1 (MALT1) is central to lymphocyte activation and lymphomagenesis. MALT1 mediates antigen receptor signalling to NF-kappa B by acting as a scaffold protein. Furthermore, MALT1 has proteolytic activity that contributes to optimal NF-kappa B activation by cleaving the NF-kappa B inhibitor A20. Whether MALT1 protease activity is involved in other signalling pathways, and the identity of the relevant substrates, is unknown. Here, we show that T-cell receptors (TCR) activation, as well as overexpression of the oncogenic API2-MALT1 fusion protein, results in proteolytic inactivation of CYLD by MALT1, which is specifically required for c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation and the inducible expression of a subset of genes. These results indicate a novel role for MALT1 proteolytic activity in TCR-induced JNK activation and reveal CYLD cleavage as the underlying mechanism. The EMBO Journal (2011) 30, 1742-1752. doi:10.1038/emboj.2011.85; Published online 29 March 2011