Germline mutations in a G protein identify signaling cross-talk in T cells

Humans with monogenic inborn errors responsible for extreme disease phenotypes can reveal essential physiological pathways. We investigated germline mutations in GNAI2, which encodes G$_{αi2}$, a key component in heterotrimeric G protein signal transduction usually thought to regulate adenylyl cyclase-mediated cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production. Patients with activating G$_{αi2}$ mutations had clinical presentations that included impaired immunity. Mutant G$_{αi2}$ impaired cell migration and augmented responses to T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. We found that mutant G$_{αi2}$ influenced TCR signaling by sequestering the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-activating protein RASA2, thereby promoting RAS activation and increasing downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT S6 signaling to drive cellular growth and proliferation.