Human pre-B and B cell membrane mu-chains are noncovalently associated with a disulfide-linked complex containing a product of the B29 gene.

B cell activation after Ag binding to membrane Ig (mIg) is mediated by a complex series of events that involves proximal activation of a tyrosine kinase and phospholipase C. Until recently it was unclear how mIgM and mIgD, with their limited cytoplasmic domains (three amino acids on each H chain), were able to couple to these secondary signal transducers. Studies of murine B cells conducted in several laboratories, including our own, suggest that products of the mb-1 (IgM-alpha or IgD-alpha) and B29 (Ig-beta, Ig-gamma) genes occur as disulfide-linked alpha/beta and alpha/gamma heterodimers that are noncovalently associated with mIgM and mIgD. Although studies utilizing Daudi and Raji cell lines indicate that human mIgM is also associated with a dimer containing the mb-1 gene product, the other molecules associated with the human receptor have not been identified. In this report we characterize the phosphoproteins that are noncovalently associated with mIgM on human tonsillar B cells and human pre-B cell lines. mIgM is noncovalently associated with a disulfide-linked heterodimer composed of variably glycosylated forms of two core proteins with apparent molecular mass of 26.5 and 27 kDa. Western blotting analysis reveals that the lower m.w. component of each of the mIgM-associated heterodimers and its 27-kDa deglycosylated core protein are reactive with antibodies against the murine B29 gene product. Thus, a product of the B29 gene is a component of the AgR complex in human and murine B cells, occurring as a disulfide linked dimer with product(s) of the mb-1 gene. Interestingly, mb-1 and B29 gene products expressed on human cells are much more heterogenously N-glycosylated than their murine B cell counterparts.     

B lymphocyte antigen receptors (mIg) are non-covalently associated with a disulfide linked, inducibly phosphorylated glycoprotein complex.

T and B lymphocyte antigen receptors exhibit single transmembrane spanning regions and very short, three to five amino acid, C-terminal cytoplasmic tails. Ligation of these receptors leads, apparently through GTP binding protein activation, to rapid stimulation of a polyphosphoinositide specific phosphodiesterase (PPI-PDE). T lymphocyte antigen receptors (alpha beta) are coupled to PPI-PDE via a receptor associated complex of membrane proteins, designated CD3. Although an analogous transducer complex is presumed to exist in B cells, no such structure has been defined. We utilized in vitro [32P]phosphorylation to identify and characterize a membrane immunoglobulin (mIg) associated phosphoprotein complex which appears to represent a B cell analog of CD3. The phosphoprotein complex consists of three N-glycosylated polypeptides which occur as disulfide linked dimers, non-covalently associated with mIg. The complex associated with mIgM (pp32, pp34 and pp37 subunits) differs from that associated with mIgD (pp33, pp34 and pp37 subunits), and the isotype specific phosphoprotein (pp32 or pp33) appears to exist as a disulfide linked heterodimer with either pp34 or pp37. Aluminum fluoride stimulates phosphorylation of all of the subunits, and at least one of the proteins is phosphorylated on a tyrosine residue(s).     

Alpha-chains of IgM and IgD antigen receptor complexes are differentially N-glycosylated MB-1-related molecules

The major B cell Ag receptors, membrane (m) IgM and mIgD, are noncovalently associated with disulfide-linked heterodimers of alpha, beta, and gamma glycoproteins. The beta and gamma chains have apparent molecular masses of 37 and 34 kDa, respectively, and are associated with both mIgM and mIgD. Receptor alpha chains, however, exhibit Ig isotype specificity. IgM-alpha and IgD-alpha have apparent molecular masses of 32 and 33 kDa, respectively. Recently, the alpha chain of the IgM Ag receptor complex was identified as the product of the mb-1 gene, and the beta and gamma chains were characterized as products of the B29 gene. The failure of mb-1 cDNA to hybridize with mRNA from J558 delta m2.6 plasmacytomas expressing surface mIgD in association with IgD-alpha has led to the conclusion that IgM-alpha and IgD-alpha are not closely related. In this report we have used protein biochemical methods to characterize differences in the mIgM- and mIgD-associated alpha chains. In addition to a slightly greater apparent m.w., IgD-alpha was slightly more acidic than IgM-alpha. The alpha chains had nearly identical proteolytic peptide maps, and were also noted to have multiple loci of identity with MB-1 based on amino terminal sequencing and immunoblotting. In an attempt to determine whether the alpha chains differed as a result of differential posttranslational modification, they were compared after deglycosylation with N-glycanase. The results indicate that the apparent m.w. as well as isoelectric point differences are primarily due to differential N-linked glycosylation. These studies indicate that IgM-alpha and IgD-alpha are products of the mb-1 gene or closely related genes.     

Membrane Ig-cytoskeletal interactions. I. Flow cytofluorometric and biochemical analysis of membrane IgM-cytoskeletal interactions

Membrane IgM (mIgM) and mIgD are the receptors for Ag on the surface of B lymphocytes, mIg is soluble in detergent; however, when mIg is cross-linked with anti-Ig, the mIg becomes associated with the cytoskeletal matrix and is rendered detergent-insoluble. By a novel flow cytofluorometric assay and by biochemical analysis, it has been shown that anti-isotype-specific antibodies induce mIgM and mIgD to associate with the cytoskeleton of B lymphocytes in an isotype-specific fashion. The detergent solubility of other prominent B lymphocyte surface proteins, such as class I and class II MHC proteins were unaffected by cross-linking of mIg. A panel of mu-specific mAb was analyzed for their ability to induce mIgM-cytoskeletal association. Although all mAb bound mIgM, only three out of seven rendered mIgM cytoskeletally associated. Further analysis revealed a strict correlation in the capacity of mu-specific mAb to induce capping and to induce the association of mIgM with the cytoskeleton.     

Two new proteins preferentially associated with membrane immunoglobulin D.

The IgM and IgD classes of antigen receptor can perform different functions on B cells. However, so far no class-specific components communicating with the cytoplasm have been found in the two antigen receptors. We have employed a new biotinylation protocol to search for intracellular membrane Ig-associated proteins. Here we describe two proteins of 29 and 31 kDa that are associated with membrane IgD and to some extent with membrane IgM. The membrane IgM molecule is associated specifically with three proteins of 32, 37 and 41 kDa. The purification and sequencing of the two mIgD-associated proteins revealed that they are novel proteins which are related to each other. These proteins may be the missing link between the antigen receptor and the cytoskeleton and may contribute to functional differences between membrane IgM and membrane IgD.     

The membrane IgM-associated heterodimer on human B cells is a newly defined B cell antigen that contains the protein product of the mb-1 gene

7/8embrane IgM (mIgM) on human B lymphocytes is noncovalently associated with a disulfide-linked dimer that contains phosphoproteins of 47 and 37 kDa. In this study, the biochemical properties and the identity of these Ag receptor-associated components have been addressed. Both subunits carry N-linked carbohydrate groups. After deglycosylation, the 47-kDa and 37-kDa proteins have similar molecular masses, of about 23 kDa, and relatively acidic but different isoelectric points. The accumulated data, together with a previously performed comparison of tryptic peptides, suggest that the two components are structurally distinct and possibly encoded by different genes. Indeed, a mAb, raised against a synthetic peptide that was made on the basis of the published carboxyl-terminal amino acid sequence of the human mb-1 gene product, specifically reacted with the 47-kDa but not the 37-kDa subunit. None of the established B cell-specific mAb characterized in the Fourth International Workshop on Leukocyte Antigens, including CD24, CD37, and CD72, detect the mIgM-linked heterodimer, which makes it a newly defined human B cell Ag.     

Cytoplasmic tail deletion converts membrane immunoglobulin to a phosphatidylinositol-linked form lacking signaling and efficient antigen internalization functions

Membrane-bound immunoglobulin (mIg) is the antigen receptor on B lymphocytes mediating early events in antigen presentation and signal transduction. Wild-type human mIgM constructs transfected into the murine B-cell lymphoma A20 are expressed as transmembrane proteins with antigen presentation and signaling functions comparable to the endogenous mIgG2A; the transfected wild-type mIgM is internalized rapidly after anti-Ig cross-linking. Transfected constructs lacking the normal three-amino acid cytoplasmic tail are expressed exclusively as phosphatidylinositol-linked proteins, lack both antigen presentation and signal transduction functions, and are internalized slowly following anti-Ig binding. The molecular mass of the cytoplasmic tail-deleted phosphatidylinositol-linked Ig molecule is consistent with cleavage of the transmembrane residues during processing. Cytoplasmic domains may therefore regulate the mode of expression of membrane proteins and thereby influence their functional capabilities.     

Prohibitin and prohibitone are contained in high-molecular weight complexes and interact with alpha-actinin and annexin A2

The closely related proteins prohibitin (p32) and prohibitone (p37) are evolutionarily conserved with homologues found from cyanobacteria to man. They are thought to be exclusively mitochondrial and have been assigned many-rather different-functions, ranging from a role in lifespan, in mitochondrial inheritance and as chaperones of mitochondrial proteases in yeast. Evidence for a localisation outside of mitochondria has been brought forward in mammalian cells, where they influence cell-cycle progression and are found in association with cell surface receptors. We have employed a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify other interacting proteins and have identified alpha-actinin and annexin A2 as binding partners for prohibitin and prohibitone. Coprecipitation experiments supported the putative binding between prohibitin and prohibitone on the one hand and annexin A2 or alpha-actinin on the other hand in intact cells. Surface plasmon resonance analysis was used to determine relative affinities between prohibitin and alpha-actinin and between prohibitone and annexin A2 and alpha-actinin, respectively. We further show that prohibitin and prohibitone can also form homomeric (preferentially tetrameric) and heteromultimeric complexes, with significant affinities.     

mIgM:mIgD ratios on B cells: mean mIgD expression exceeds mIgM by 10-fold on most splenic B cells

The relative frequency of mIgM and mIgD molecules on B cell surfaces is important in determining, in large part, the isotype involvement in antigen binding and signal transduction. Although it is generally assumed that on most mature B cells, mIgM and mIgD occur in roughly equal quantities, no formal analysis of this question has been reported. In this report, we describe such an analysis based on the quantitation of anti-Fab or anti-kappa specific immunofluorescence of splenic B cells before or after capping with rabbit anti-IgD or anti-IgM antibodies or both. The results indicate that, whereas mean expression of IgD exceeds IgM on splenocytes by threefold, members of the major B cell subpopulation (60 to 70% of cells) express 10-fold more IgD than IgM.     

Single cell observation of ligand-induced desensitization of B-cell membrane immunoglobulin-mediated calcium signals.

Using a digital imaging fluorescence microscope we have observed the membrane immunoglobulin (mIg)-induced desensitization of calcium signals in individual BAL17 B lymphoma cells which express two kinds of antigen receptors, mIgM and mIgD. The mIgD-mediated desensitization was partly abrogated by pretreating the cells with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h, however, the mIgM-mediated one was not affected by the pretreatment. This supports the idea that at least two mechanisms are operative for mIg-induced desensitization in B cells.     

Differential responses of p56lyn and p53lyn, products of alternatively spliced lyn mRNA, on stimulation of B-cell antigen receptor.

We previously cloned a lyn cDNA-encoding 56-kd Src-like protein-tyrosine kinase, p56lyn. Anti-Lyn antibodies raised against a sequence of 95 amino acids (Arg-25 to Ala-119 of p56lyn) recognized two species of the protein, p56lyn and p53lyn. V8 proteinase analysis showed that p53lyn differs only slightly from p56lyn. Analysis of mRNA from B lymphocytes by the polymerase chain reaction indicated the presence of two forms of alternatively spliced lyn mRNA. Nucleotide sequencing of the corresponding cDNAs revealed that these two forms of lyn mRNA differ in the presence and absence of a 63 nucleotides sequence near the 5'-terminus of the coding region; 21 amino acid residues (Pro-23 to Arg-43 or Val-24 to Pro-44) of p56lyn were tentatively concluded to be missing in p53lyn. On cross-linking of the membrane-bound IgM (mIgM) on the surface of B lymphocytes, the kinetics of down-regulations of the two Lyn proteins demonstrated to be associated with the mIgM antigen receptor were found to be different. This observation suggests that the amino terminal proximal sequence of the Lyn protein is important for determining its mode of interaction with mIgM.     

Biochemical Characterization of Annexins I and II Isolated from Pig Nervous Tissue

Five proteins having molecular masses of 90, 67, 37, 36, and 32 kDa (p90, p67, p37, p36, and p32, respectively) were identified in the particulate fractions of pig brain cortex and pig spinal cord prepared in the presence of 0.2 mM Ca2+ and further purified using a protocol previously described for the purification of calpactins. Proteins p90, p37, and p36 are related to annexins I and II. Annexin II, represented by p90, is found as an heterotetramer, composed of two heavy chains of 36 kDa and two light chains of 11 kDa, and as a monomer of 36 kDa. Protein p37, which differs immunologically from p36, is a monomer and could be related to annexin I. All three proteins are Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid- and F-actin-binding proteins; they are phosphorylated on a serine and on a tyrosine residue by protein kinases associated with synaptic plasma membranes. Purified p36 monomer and p36 heterotetramer proteins bind to actin at millimolar Ca2+ concentrations. The stoichiometry of p36 binding to F-actin at saturation is 1:2, corresponding to one tetramer or monomer of calpactin for two actin monomers (KD, 3 x 10(-6) M). Synaptic plasma membranes supplemented with the monomeric or tetrameric forms of p36 phosphorylate the proteins on a serine residue. The monomer is phosphorylated on a serine residue by a Ca(2+)-independent protein kinase, whereas the heterotetramer is phosphorylated on a serine residue and a tyrosine residue by Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases. Antibodies to brain p37 and p36 together with antibodies to lymphocytes lipocortins 1 and 2 were used to follow the distribution of these proteins in nervous tissues. Polypeptides of 37, 34, and 36 kDa cross-react with these antibodies. Anti-p37 and antilipocortin 1 cross-react on the same 37- and 34-kDa polypeptides; anti-p36 and antilipocortin 2 cross-react only on the 36-kDa polypeptides.     

Presence of an immunologically-defined class of peri-Golgi vesicles in cultured mammalian cells

Immunsera of mice injected with clathrin-depleted coated vesicle membranes, purified from rat liver, revealed a preferential labeling of some perinuclear structures by immunofluorescence microscopy on NRK cells. Subsequent production of 4 monoclonal antibodies was achieved. The antigen was strictly located in the Golgi area of the cell but was not an intrinsic element of the Golgi complex. The restricted location of the structures excluded these were lysosomes which appeared more dispersed in these cells. After nocodazole treatment the material was found dispersed in the cytoplasm. This provided a means of distinguishing the antigen from clathrin-coated structures and Golgi intrinsic elements. Immunolocalization at the electron microscope level confirmed the data obtained at the light level. Some peroxidase reaction product was rarely associated with Golgi elements, but predominantly stained small neighboring Golgi vesicles (50 nm diameter), as well as tubulo-elongated structures and some large (500 nm) irregular-shaped vesicles. A 32 kDa molecular weight antigen was characterized by immunopurification from NRK cells metabolically labeled with 35S-Met. This 32 kDa antigen appeared as part of a higher multimolecular membrane component of 300 kDa. A 170 kDa and a 70 kDa components were immunodetected in a semi-purified membrane fraction from rat liver, demonstrating that the antigen was a minor but very antigenic contaminant of the coated vesicle preparation used as immunogen. In conclusion, the labeled peri-Golgi structures may be part of the newly characterized trans-Golgi network and/or of the reticular/vesicular endosomal, prelysosomal structure recently described.     

Pex19p binds Pex30p and Pex32p at regions required for their peroxisomal localization but separate from their peroxisomal targeting signals

The assembly of proteins in the peroxisomal membrane is a multistep process requiring their recognition in the cytosol, targeting to and insertion into the peroxisomal membrane, and stabilization within the lipid bilayer. The peroxin Pex19p has been proposed to be either the receptor that recognizes and targets newly synthesized peroxisomal membrane proteins (PMP) to the peroxisome or a chaperone required for stabilization of PMPs at the peroxisomal membrane. Differentiating between these two roles for Pex19p could be achieved by determining whether the peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS) and the region of Pex19p binding of a PMP are the same or different. We addressed the role for Pex19p in the assembly of two PMPs, Pex30p and Pex32p, of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Pex30p and Pex32p control peroxisome size and number but are dispensable for peroxisome formation. Systematic truncations from the carboxyl terminus, together with in-frame deletions of specific regions, have identified PTSs essential for targeting Pex30p and Pex32p to peroxisomes. Both Pex30p and Pex32p interact with Pex19p in regions that do not overlap with their PTSs. However, Pex19p is required for localizing Pex30p and Pex32p to peroxisomes, because mutations that disrupt the interaction of Pex19p with Pex30p and Pex32p lead to their mislocalization to a compartment other than peroxisomes. Mutants of Pex30p and Pex32p that localize to peroxisomes but produce cells exhibiting the peroxisomal phenotypes of cells lacking these proteins demonstrate that the regions in these proteins that control peroxisomal targeting and cell biological activity are separable. Together, our data show that the interaction of Pex19p with Pex30p and Pex32p is required for their roles in peroxisome biogenesis and are consistent with a chaperone role for Pex19p in stabilizing or maintaining membrane proteins in peroxisomes.     

Identification of prohibitin as an antigen in Behcet’s disease

Objective

This study is intended to screen potential antigen for Behcet’s disease (BD) by using human microvascular endothelial cells (HUVEC).

Methods

Following cell-based indirect immunofluorescence assay with sera from BD patients, proteins extracted from HUVEC were separated and detected by Western blotting. Then the target protein was identified by LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF, the recombinant target protein was expressed, purified and then used as coating antigen to test the prevalence of autoantibodies in patient’s sera.

Results

The Western blotting result showed that some patients’ sera could react with a protein band with about 30 kDa of molecular weight, which was further identified as prohibitin by mass spectrometry. The prevalence of serum antibodies against recombinant human prohibitin was detected in 16 of 58 BD patients (28%) but none in healthy controls.     

Localization of the iron-regulatory proteins hemojuvelin and transferrin receptor 2 to the basolateral membrane domain of hepatocytes

The newly discovered proteins hemojuvelin (Hjv) and transferrin receptor type 2 (TfR2) are involved in iron metabolism. Mutations in the Hjv and TfR2 gene cause hemochromatosis. We investigated the expression and cellular localization of Hjv and TfR2 in rat and human liver. The expression of Hjv and TfR2 was shown on mRNA and protein level by RT–PCR and immunoblot experiments. Their cellular localization was studied by immunofluorescence with antibodies raised against Hjv and TfR2. Hjv and TfR2 are present in human and rat liver and in primary human hepatocytes. Antisera raised against Hjv identified immunoreactive proteins with an apparent size of 44 and 46 kDa in immunoblot experiments of rat and human liver extracts, which are in accordance with the putative membrane-bound and cleaved soluble forms of this protein, respectively. TfR2 was detected as a 105 kDa protein corresponding to the predicted size of glycosylated TfR2 monomers. In immunofluorescence experiments, Hjv and TfR2 were found in rat liver only in hepatocytes. At the subcellular level, both proteins were predominantly localized to the basolateral membrane domain of hepatocytes. The localization of Hjv and TfR2 at the same membrane domain renders a functional interaction of these two proteins in iron homeostasis possible. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available to authorised users in the online version of this article at . Kulaksiz and Stremmel contributed equally to this work.     

The periplasmic flagella of Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae are composed of two sheath proteins and three core proteins.

The major components of the periplasmic flagella of the spirochaete Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae strain C5 were purified and characterized. We demonstrate that the periplasmic flagella are composed of five major proteins (molecular masses 44, 37, 35, 34 and 32 kDa) and present their location, N-terminal amino acid sequence and immunological relationship. The 44 kDa and the 35 kDa protein are on the sheath of the periplasmic flagellum, whereas the 37, 34 and 32 kDa protein reside in the periplasmic flagellar core. The two sheath flagellar proteins are immunologically related but have different N-terminal amino acid sequences. The N-terminus of the 44 kDa protein shows homology with the sheath flagellins of other spirochaetes, but the 35 kDa protein does not. The three core proteins are immunologically cross-reactive and their N-terminal amino acid sequences are almost, but not completely, identical, indicating that the core proteins are encoded by three distinct genes. The core proteins show extensive N-terminal sequence similarities and an immunological relationship with periplasmic flagellar core proteins of other spirochaetes.     

In vivo survival of autoreactive B cells: characterization of long-lived B cells

To determine the effects of chronic Ag stimulation on B cell survival and phenotype, we compared survival and surface markers of hen egg lysozyme (HEL)-specific B cells in Ig transgenic (Tgn) mice, which lack HEL, and in HEL-Ig transgenic mice, which express soluble HEL. Serum HEL levels were maximized in HEL-Ig Tgn mice by feeding them zinc, which activates the metallothionein promoter that regulates HEL expression. B cell age was characterized by expression of heat-stable Ag, and B220 and B cell survival was studied by evaluating changes in B cell number when lymphopoiesis was suppressed with anti-IL-7 mAb and by identifying newly generated B cells through 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation. Our observations show that the mean B cell life span is considerably reduced in HEL-Ig Tgn compared with Ig Tgn mice, but also demonstrate that some HEL-Ig Tgn B cells survive to maturity. Some of these surviving B cells have undergone receptor editing (substitution of an endogenous Ig light chain for the transgenic Ig light chain), so that their ability to bind HEL is decreased or absent. Surviving HEL-Ig Tgn B cells that retain HEL specificity express decreased mIgD and little or no mIgM. mIgD expression progressively decreases with increasing HEL-Ig Tgn B cell age. These observations suggest that self Ag-specific B cells can survive in the presence of soluble self Ag by down-regulating mIg expression, which should limit B cell signaling by Ag that might otherwise cause deletion of these cells.