The X-linked lymphoproliferative-disease gene product SAP regulates signals induced through the co-receptor SLAM.
Sayos, J.; Wu, C.; Morra, M.; Wang, N.; Zhang, X.; Allen, D.; van Schaik, S.; Notarangelo, L.; Geha, R.; Roncarolo, M. G.; Oettgen, H.; De Vries, J. E.; Aversa, G.; Terhorst, C.
[Article] Nature. 395(6701):462-469, October 1, 1998.

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In addition to triggering the activation of B-or T-cell antigen receptors, the binding of a ligand to its receptor at the cell surface can sometimes determine the physiological outcome of interactions between antigen-presenting cells, T and B lymphocytes. The protein SLAM (also known as CDw150), which is present on the surface of B and T cells, forms such a receptor-ligand pair as it is a self-ligand. We now show that a T-cell-specific, SLAM-associated protein (SAP), which contains an SH2 domain and a short tail, acts as an inhibitor by blocking recruitment of the SH2-domain-containing signal-transduction molecule SHP-2 to a docking site in the SLAM cytoplasmic region. The gene encoding SAP maps to the same area of the X chromosome as the locus for X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) and we found mutations in the SAP gene in three XLP patients. Absence of the inhibitor SAP in XLP patients affects T/B-cell interactions induced by SLAM, leading to an inability to control B-cell proliferation caused by Epstein-Barr virus infections.

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