The PRY/SPRY/B30.2 Domain of Butyrophilin 1A1 (BTN1A1) Binds to Xanthine Oxidoreductase: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUNCTION OF BTN1A1 IN THE MAMMARY GLAND AND OTHER TISSUES*

Butyrophilin 1A1 (BTN1A1) and xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) are highly expressed in the lactating mammary gland and are secreted into milk associated with the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). Ablation of the genes encoding either protein causes severe defects in the secretion of milk lipid droplets, suggesting that the two proteins may function in the same pathway. Therefore, we determined whether BTN1A1 and XOR directly interact using protein binding assays, surface plasmon resonance analysis, and gel filtration. Bovine XOR bound with high affinity in a pH- and salt-sensitive manner (K_D = 101 ± 31 nm in 10 mm HEPES, 150 mm NaCl, pH 7.4) to the PRY/SPRY/B30.2 domain in the cytoplasmic region of bovine BTN1A1. Binding was stoichiometric, with one XOR dimer binding to either two BTN1A1 monomers or one dimer. XOR bound to BTN1A1 orthologs from mice, humans, or cows but not to the cytoplasmic domains of the closely related human paralogs, BTN2A1 or BTN3A1, or to the B30.2 domain of human RoRet (TRIM 38), a protein in the TRIM family. Analysis of the protein composition of the MFGM of wild type and BTN1A1 null mice showed that most of the XOR in mice lacking BTN1A1 was released from the MFGM in a soluble form when the milk lipid droplets were disrupted to prepare membrane, compared with wild-type mice, in which most of the XOR remained membrane-bound. Thus BTN1A1 functions in vivo to stabilize the association of XOR with the MFGM by direct interactions through the PRY/SPRY/B30.2 domain. The potential significance of BTN1A1/XOR interactions in the mammary gland and other tissues is discussed.Members of the butyrophilin (BTN)³ gene family are attracting increasing attention because they may play multifunctional roles in diverse physiologies, including lactation (1, 2), selection and regulation of T-cells in the immune system (3–6), and modulation of autoimmune disease (7–9). BTN proteins have the canonical structures of cell surface receptors, which, after an N-terminal signal sequence, generally comprise two exoplasmic Ig folds (10, 11), a membrane anchor and a cytoplasmic domain consisting of a stem region, a PRY/SPRY/B30.2 domain (12, 13), and a cytoplasmic tail at the C terminus (14).The eponymous BTN1A1 protein has been linked to the secretion of milk lipid droplets because it is highly expressed in the mammary epithelium during lactation and is incorporated into the surface membrane coat surrounding cytoplasmic lipid droplets (the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM)) as they bud into milk from the apical surface (15). Furthermore, ablation of the Btn1a1 gene disrupts lipid secretion, causing the accumulation of large pools of triacylglycerol in the cytoplasm of Btn1a1 null mice (1). In a different context, dietary exposure to BTN1A1 in dairy products has been associated with modulation of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis because of structural similarities between the IgI fold of BTN1A1 (16) and the IgV fold of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) (17) an antigen on the myelin nerve sheath that is a target for autoantibodies in multiple sclerosis patients (8–10).Potential interactions between the exoplasmic Ig folds of several BTN proteins, and putative receptors on immune cells are postulated to regulate positive selection of epidermal γδ-T cells in the case of Skint1 (6) and suppress T-cell activation in the case of BTNL2 (4, 5). In addition, BTN2A1 binds to the C-type lectin, DC-SIGN, on immature dendritic cells (18), and proteins in the BTN3A1–3 subfamily bind to an unidentified ligand on various immune cells (19).Interactions between the cytoplasmic domain of BTN and intracellular proteins have not been investigated in any detail. The intracellular region of most BTNs is dominated by the B30.2 or the PRY/SPRY domain, which comprises two sheets of antiparallel β-strands folded into a β- sandwich, which in some proteins is contiguous at the N terminus with one or two α-helices (20–24) (for a discussion of the relationship between PRY, SPRY, and B30.2 domains, see Ref. (25)). This domain (here abbreviated as B30.2),⁴ is postulated to serve as a protein-binding module, by which proteins interact through the extended surface loops that adjoin individual β-strands (22).One protein that may bind to the cytoplasmic region of BTN proteins (and the B30.2 domain) is the redox enzyme, xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR),⁵ because it was shown to bind to the cytoplasmic domain of mouse BTN1A1 in an in vitro binding assay (26). Furthermore, one XOR-deficient mouse strain (Xdh^+/−) (27) displayed a lactation phenotype similar to that of Btn1a1 null mice (1), suggesting that the two proteins may be functionally linked by direct interaction. These conclusions, however, have been challenged, because XOR does not co-localize with BTN1A1 in immunolabeled freeze-fractured replicates of secreted milk lipid droplets (28), and a second mouse strain deficient in XOR does not appear to have an altered lactation phenotype (29).In this paper, we devise in vivo and in vitro assays to show that the cytoplasmic domain of BTN1A1 binds to XOR via the B30.2 domain and that BTN1A1 is required for the stable association of XOR with the MFGM in vivo. Furthermore, interaction with XOR appears to be limited to BTN1A1 orthologs. These results are discussed in the context of potential functions of BTN1A1 in the mammary gland and other tissues and the relationship of BTN1A1 to other BTN family members.