title: Dual role of the tyrosine activation motif of the Ig-alpha protein during signal transduction via the B cell antigen receptor.
abstract: The B cell antigen receptor (BCR) is a multimeric protein complex consisting of the ligand binding immunoglobulin molecule and the Ig-alpha/beta heterodimer that mediates intracellular signalling by coupling the receptor to protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs). Transfection of the Ig-alpha deficient myeloma cell line J558L microns with expression vectors coding for mutated Ig-alpha allowed us to test the function of the tyrosines in the cytoplasmic region of Ig-alpha in the context of the BCR. Furthermore we expressed Ig-alpha mutations as chimeric CD8-Ig-alpha molecules on K46 B lymphoma cells and tested their signalling capacity in terms of PTK activation and release of calcium. We show here that the conserved tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic portion of Ig-alpha have a dual role. First, they are required for efficient activation of PTKs during signal induction and second, one of them is subject to phosphorylation by activated src-related PTKs. Phosphorylation on tyrosine in the cytoplasmic portion of Ig-alpha is discussed as a possible mechanism to couple the BCR to SH2 domain-carrying molecules.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Immunobiologie, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Flaswinkel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reth
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D051925:CD79 Antigens; D002460:Cell Line; D004247:DNA; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051076:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014162:Transfection; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D051925:CD79 Antigens; C497882:Cd79a protein, mouse; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D014443:Tyrosine; D004247:DNA; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C494960:Fyn protein, mouse; D051076:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fyn