Vav, a hematopoiesis-specific signaling protein, plays an important role in T-cell development and activation. Vav upregulates the expression of the interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene, primarily via activation of the distal NFAT site in the IL-2 gene promoter (NFAT-IL-2). However, since this site cooperatively binds NFAT and AP-1, the relative contribution of Vav to NFAT versus AP-1 activation has not been determined. Here, we studied the respective roles of the AP-1 and NFAT pathways in the T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated, Vav-dependent activation of NFAT-IL-2. Although Vav stimulated the transcriptional activity of an NFAT-IL-2 reporter gene, it failed to stimulate the transcriptional or DNA-binding activities of an AP-1-independent NFAT site derived from the human gamma interferon gene promoter. Vav also did not stimulate detectable Ca(2+) mobilization and nuclear translocation of NFATc or NFATp. On the other hand, Vav induced the activation of Rac1 or Cdc42 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), enhanced the transcriptional and DNA-binding activities of AP-1, and induced increased phosphorylation of c-Jun. Dominant-negative Vav and/or Rac1 mutants blocked the TCR-mediated stimulation of these events, demonstrating the physiological relevance of these effects. Vav also associated with Rac1 or Cdc42 in T cells, and anti-CD3 antibody stimulation enhanced this association. These findings indicate that a Rac1-dependent JNK/c-Jun/AP-1 pathway, rather than the Ca(2+)/NFAT pathway, plays the predominant role in NFAT-IL-2 activation by Vav.