Multiple regulatory roles of the transmembrane adaptor protein NTAL in gene transcription and mast cell physiology

(EN) This thesis focuses mainly on understanding of the regulatory roles of the transmembrane adaptor proteins, non-T cell activation linker (NTAL) and phosphoprotein associated with glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains (PAG), in murine mast cell signaling. There are conflicting reports on the role of NTAL in the high affinity immunoglobulin E receptor (FcεRI) activation pathways in mast cells. Studies carried out on mast cells prepared from NTAL knock-out mice have indicated that NTAL is a negative regulator of FcεRI signaling, whereas experiments performed on human mast cells and rat basophilic leukemia cells with silenced NTAL expression have suggested its positive regulatory role. To thoroughly examine the involvement of NTAL in FcεRI-mediated signaling events in mouse mast cells and to determine whether different methodologies of NTAL ablation have different physiological consequences, we utilized a broad range of assays. Using bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) as a model, we obtained cells from NTAL wild type and knock-out cells and using lentiviral delivery approach we transduced part of the wild type cells, with vector bearing NTAL shRNA or empty vector to generate NTAL knock-down cells and control cells, respectively. Comparison of all four groups of generated cells in our assays..