Calcineurin-nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) signalling plays a critical role not only in the immune and nervous systems, but also in cardiovascular development and pathological endothelial cell activation during angiogenesis or inflammation. Studies in NFAT-null mice demonstrated that there is high redundancy between functions of the different NFAT family members. Deletion of only one NFAT causes mild phenotypes, but compound deletions of multiple NFAT family members leads to severe abnormalities in multiple organ systems. Genome-wide transcription analysis revealed that many NFAT target genes are related to cell growth and inflammation, whereas the gene most strongly induced by NFAT in endothelial cells is an auto-inhibitory molecule, Down syndrome critical region (DSCR)-1. The NFAT-DSCR-1 signalling axis may vary depending on the cell-type or signal dosage level under the microenvironment. In the endothelium, stable expression of the DSCR-1 short isoform attenuates septic inflammatory shock, tumour growth and tumour metastasis to lung. Moreover, dysfunction of DSCR-1 and the NFAT priming kinase, DYRK1A, prevents NFAT nuclear occupancy. This change in NFAT nuclear localization is responsible for many of the features of Down syndrome. Thus, fine-tuning of the NFAT-DSCR-1 negative feedback loop may enable therapeutic manipulation in vasculopathic diseases.
Keywords: DSCR-1; Down syndrome; calcineurin-NFAT signal; endothelial cell activation; feedback loop.