Functional and immunological responses of Jurkat lymphocytes transfected with the substance P receptor

1. We have transfected the rat substance P receptor (SPR) cDNA into the leukemic T-lymphocyte cell line Jurkat (J-wt) in order to study the effects of substance P (SP) on lymphocyte signaling mechanisms and the resultant neuropeptide-induced immunological changes. 2. The SPR cDNA was transfected into J-wt by the method of electroporation. Clones expressing SPRs were selected using a functional assay that measured SP-induced mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in a fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) and by their expression of specific 125I-SP binding. 3. One clone, J-SPR, was identified and shown by Northern blot and 125I-SP saturation binding techniques to express the 2.2-kb SPR message and approximately 50,000 SPRs/cell with a Kd of 0.3 nM, respectively. Stimulation of J-SPR by SP resulted in the rapid mobilization of [Ca2+]i. This response was dose dependent in the range 10(-11)-10(-6) M SP and was maximal at 10(-7) M SP, with an EC50 of 0.3-0.5 nM SP. We further demonstrated that the SPR is rapidly desensitized following SP stimulation and by activation of the cell's T-cell receptor (TCR). Whole-cell patch-clamp experiments on J-SPR show that SP stimulation induces a Cl- current by a Ca2+ mediated process dependent on Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK). 4. Stimulation of J-SPR by SP results in changes in the cell surface expression of a number of molecules that play important roles in cell adhesion and activation: the expression of LFA-1 is decreased, and CD2 and IL-2 receptors are increased by 30 min, 6 hr, and 24 hr, respectively, following stimulation, as assessed by antibody staining in a FACS. 5. The expression of functional SPRs in Jurkat lymphocytes will not permit a detailed examination of how the activation of SPRs result in altered immune responses and further elucidate the role this neuropeptide receptor plays in inflammation.