Department of Immunology, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80206, USA.
The Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) family members play important roles in host defense. These receptors signal through TIR domain-containing adapter proteins. In this report, we identified a novel TIR domain-containing adapter protein designated as TIRP. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that TIRP is associated with IL-1 receptors. TIRP also interacts with kinase-inactive mutants of IRAK and IRAK-4, IRAK-2, IRAK-M, and TRAF6. Overexpression of TIRP activates NF-kappaB and potentiates IL-1 receptor-mediated NF-kappaB activation. A dominant negative mutant of TIRP inhibits IL-1- but not tumor necrosis factor-triggered NF-kappaB activation. Moreover, TIRP-mediated NF-kappaB activation is inhibited by dominant negative mutants of IRAK, IRAK-2, TRAF6, and IKKbeta. Our findings suggest that TIRP is involved in IL-1-triggered NF-kappaB activation and functions upstream of IRAK, IRAK-2, TRAF6, and IKKbeta