@ARTICLE{10.3389/fimmu.2018.00529, AUTHOR={Lopez, Jamie A. and Noori, Tahereh and Minson, Adrian and Li Jovanoska, Lu and Thia, Kevin and Hildebrand, Michael S. and Akhlaghi, Hedieh and Darcy, Phillip K. and Kershaw, Michael H. and Brown, Natasha J. and Grigg, Andrew and Trapani, Joseph A. and Voskoboinik, Ilia}, TITLE={Bi-Allelic Mutations in STXBP2 Reveal a Complementary Role for STXBP1 in Cytotoxic Lymphocyte Killing}, JOURNAL={Frontiers in Immunology}, VOLUME={9}, YEAR={2018}, URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.00529}, DOI={10.3389/fimmu.2018.00529}, ISSN={1664-3224}, ABSTRACT={The ability of cytotoxic lymphocytes (CL) to eliminate virus-infected or cancerous target cells through the granule exocytosis death pathway is critical to immune homeostasis. Congenital loss of CL function due to bi-allelic mutations in PRF1, UNC13D, STX11, or STXBP2 leads to a potentially fatal immune dysregulation, familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL). This occurs due to the failure of CLs to release functional pore-forming protein perforin and, therefore, inability to kill the target cell. Bi-allelic mutations in partner proteins STXBP2 or STX11 impair CL cytotoxicity due to failed docking/fusion of cytotoxic secretory granules with the plasma membrane. One unique feature of STXBP2- and STX11-deficient patient CLs is that their short-term in vitro treatment with a low concentration of IL-2 partially or completely restores natural killer (NK) cell degranulation and cytotoxicity, suggesting the existence of a secondary, yet unknown, pathway for secretory granule exocytosis. In the current report, we studied NK and T-cell function in an individual with late presentation of FHL due to hypomorphic bi-allelic mutations in STXBP2. Intriguingly, in addition to the expected alterations in the STXBP2 and STX11 proteins, we also observed a concomitant significant reduction in the expression of homologous STXBP1 protein and its partner STX1, which had never been implicated in CL function. Further analysis of human NK and T cells demonstrated a functional role for the STXBP1/STX1 axis in NK and CD8+ T-cell cytotoxicity, where it appears to be responsible for as much as 50% of their cytotoxic activity. This discovery suggests a unique and previously unappreciated interplay between STXBP/Munc proteins regulating the same essential granule exocytosis pathway.} }