BCAP Regulates Dendritic Cell Maturation Through the Dual-Regulation of NF-κB and PI3K/AKT Signaling During Infection

The maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) is essential in adaptive immunity. B cell adapter for phosphoinositide 3-kinase (BCAP) has been shown a divergent activities in cell type dependent manner including B cells, NK cells, macrophages, and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), however, its role in conventional DCs (cDCs) remains unknown. Here, we report that BCAP negatively regulates Toll-like receptor-induced cDC maturation and inhibits cDCs from inducing antigen-specific T cell responses, thereby weakening the antibacterial adaptive immune responses of mice in a Listeria monocytogenes-infection model. Furthermore, we demonstrate that BCAP simultaneously modulates the activation of the NF-kappa B and PI3K/AKT signaling by dynamically interacting with, respectively, MyD88 and the p85 alpha subunit of PI3K. Our study thus reveals non-redundant roles for BCAP in regulating cDC maturation and reveals a bilateral signal transduction mechanism.