We have cloned the platelet collagen receptor glycoprotein (GP) VI from a human bone marrow cDNA library using rapid amplification of cDNA ends with platelet mRNA to complete the 5 end sequence. GPVI was isolated from platelets using affinity chromatography on the snake C-type lectin, convulxin, as a critical step. Internal peptide sequences were obtained, and degenerate primers were designed to amplify a fragment of the GPVI cDNA, which was then used as a probe to screen the library. Purified GPVI, as well as Fab fragments of polyclonal antibodies made against the receptor, inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation. The GPVI receptor cDNA has an open reading frame of 1017 base pairs coding for a protein of 339 amino acids including a putative 23-amino acid signal sequence and a 19-amino acid transmembrane domain between residues 247 and 265. GPVI belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily, and its sequence is closely related to Fc␣R and to the natural killer receptors. Its extracellular chain has two Ig-C2-like domains formed by disulfide bridges. An arginine residue is found in position 3 of the transmembrane portion, which should permit association with Fc␥ and its immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif via a salt bridge. With 51 amino acids, the cytoplasmic tail is relatively long and shows little homology to the C-terminal part of the other family members. The ability of the cloned GPVI cDNA to code for a functional platelet collagen receptor was demonstrated in the megakaryocytic cell line Dami. Dami cells transfected with GPVI cDNA mobilized intracellular Ca 2؉ in response to collagen, unlike the nontransfected or mock transfected Dami cells, which do not respond to collagen.The adhesion and activation of resting, circulating platelets at a site of vascular injury is the first step in a process leading to the formation of a thrombus, which is converted into a hemostatic plug. Collagen is one of the major components of the vessel wall responsible for platelet activation. Many types of collagen exist, and seven of these are found in the subendothelial layers. Several different receptors for collagen have been identified on platelets including CD36 (1) and a p65 collagen type I specific receptor (2), but the major ones are now considered to be the integrin ␣ 2 ␤ 1 and the nonintegrin glycoprotein (GP) 1 IV. Although ␣ 2 ␤ 1 is well characterized and both subunits were cloned and sequenced several years ago (3, 4), the structure of GPVI has remained elusive; however, several features have been identified. It was determined about 20 years ago that GPVI is a major platelet glycoprotein with a molecular mass in the 60 -65-kDa range and an acid pI (5). Its role as a putative collagen receptor was established following the identification of a patient in Japan with a mild bleeding disorder whose platelets had a specific defect in response to collagen and lacked this receptor (6). This patient had also developed autoantibodies to the deficient receptor, and these were used to characterize the molecule f...

Bid plays an essential role in Fas-mediated apoptosis of the so-called type II cells. In these cells, following cleavage by caspase 8, the C-terminal fragment of Bid translocates to mitochondria and triggers the release of apoptogenic factors, thereby inducing cell death. Here we report that Bid is phosphorylated by casein kinase I (CKI) and casein kinase II (CKII). Inhibition of CKI and CKII accelerated Fas-mediated apoptosis and Bid cleavage, whereas hyperactivity of the kinases delayed apoptosis. When phosphorylated, Bid was insensitive to caspase 8 cleavage in vitro. Moreover, a mutant of Bid that cannot be phosphorylated was found to be more toxic than wild-type Bid. Together, these data indicate that phosphorylation of Bid represents a new mechanism whereby cells control apoptosis.

Convulxin, a powerful platelet activator, was isolated from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom, and 20 amino acid N-terminal sequences of both subunits were determined. These indicated that convulxin belongs to the heterodimeric C-type lectin family. Neither antibodies against GPIb nor echicetin had any effect on convulxininduced platelet aggregation showing that, in contrast to other venom C-type lectins acting on platelets, GPIb is not involved in convulxin-induced platelet activation. In addition, partially reduced/denatured convulxin only affects collagen-induced platelet aggregation. The mechanism of convulxin-induced platelet activation was examined by platelet aggregation, detection of timedependent tyrosine phosphorylation of platelet proteins, and binding studies with 125 I-convulxin. Convulxin induces signal transduction in part like collagen, involving the time-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of Fc receptor ␥ chain, phospholipase C␥2, p72 SYK , c-Cbl, and p36 -38. However, unlike collagen, pp125 FAK and some other bands are not tyrosine-phosphorylated. Convulxin binds to a glycosylated 62-kDa membrane component in platelet lysate and to p62/GPVI immunoprecipitated by human anti-p62/GPVI antibodies. Convulxin subunits inhibit both aggregation and tyrosine phosphorylation in response to collagen. Piceatannol, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with some specificity for p72 SYK , showed differential effects on collagen and convulxinstimulated signaling. These results suggest that convulxin uses the p62/GPVI but not the ␣ 2 ␤ 1 part of the collagen signaling pathways to activate platelets. Occupation and clustering of p62/GPVI may activate Src family kinases phosphorylating Fc receptor ␥ chain and, by a mechanism previously described in T-and B-cells, activate p72 SYK that is critical for downstream activation of platelets.A large number of C-type lectins from snake venoms have been described over the last few years with effects on hemostasis. While most of these inhibit the function of the coagulation factors and platelet components that they bind to, a few activate platelets by direct or indirect effects. So far all of these have been shown to affect the von Willebrand factor (vWf) 1 -platelet GPIb-V-IX axis. They include botrocetin (1) and bitiscetin (2) that bind to and change the conformation of vWf so that it can bind to GPIb and thus activate platelets and alboaggregin B (3) that activates platelets directly by binding to, and presumably clustering, GPIb. A further snake peptide from the venom of some Crotalus species has subunits with a molecular mass similar to the C-type lectins, is a strong activator of platelet phospholipase C, and has been termed convulxin (4 -8). We have isolated a similar, possibly identical, molecule from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom and show that it belongs to the heterodimeric, C-type lectin family. It activates platelets not via GPIb but through the p62/GPVI component of the platelet collagen receptor, probably by a clustering effect, and induces signals similar to a ...

We have studied the phosphorylation of the Bcl-2 family of proteins by different mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. Purified Bcl-2 was found to be phosphorylated by the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) p54-SAPK␤, and this is specific insofar as the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) and p38/RK/CSBP (p38) catalyzed only weak modification. Bcl-2 undergoes similar phosphorylation in COS-7 when coexpressed together with p54-SAPK␤ and the constitutive Rac1 mutant G12V. This is seen by both 32 PO 4 labeling and the appearance of five discrete Bcl-2 bands with reduced gel mobility. As anticipated, both intracellular p54-SAPK␤ activation and Bcl-2 phosphorylation are blocked by co-transfection with the MAP kinase specific phosphatase MKP3/PYST1. MAP kinase specificity is also seen in COS-7 cells as Bcl-2 undergoes only weak phosphorylation when co-expressed with enzymatically activated ERK1 or p38. Four critical residues undergoing phosphorylation in COS-7 cells were identified by expression of the quadruple Bcl-2 point mutant T56A,S70A,T74A,S87A. Sequencing phosphopeptides derived from tryptic digests of Bcl-2 indicates that purified GST-p54-SAPK␤ phosphorylates identical sites in vitro. This is the first report of Bcl-2 phosphorylation by the JNK/SAPK class of MAP kinases and could indicate a key modification allowing control of Bcl-2 function by cell surface receptors, Rho family GTPases, and/or cellular stresses.

Aggretin, a potent platelet activator, was isolated from Calloselasma rhodostoma venom, and 30-amino acid N-terminal sequences of both subunits were determined. Aggretin belongs to the heterodimeric snake Ctype lectin family and is thought to activate platelets by binding to platelet glycoprotein ␣ 2 ␤ 1 . We now show that binding to glycoprotein (GP) Ib is also required. Aggretin-induced platelet activation was inhibited by a monoclonal antibody to GPIb as well as by antibodies to ␣ 2 ␤ 1 . Binding of both of these platelet receptors to aggretin was confirmed by affinity chromatography. No binding of other major platelet membrane glycoproteins, in particular GPVI, to aggretin was detected. Aggretin also activates platelets from Fc receptor ␥ chain (Fc␥)-deficient mice to a greater extent than those from normal control mice, showing that it does not use the GPVI/Fc␥ pathway. Platelets from Fc␥-deficient mice expressed fibrinogen receptors normally in response to collagen, although they did not aggregate, indicating that these platelets may partly compensate via other receptors including ␣ 2 ␤ 1 or GPIb for the lack of the Fc␥ pathway. Signaling by aggretin involves a dose-dependent lag phase followed by rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of proteins. Among these are p72 SYK , p125 FAK , and PLC␥2, whereas, in comparison with collagen and convulxin, the Fc␥ subunit neither is phosphorylated nor coprecipitates with p72 SYK . This supports an independent, GPIb-and integrin-based pathway for activation of p72 SYK not involving the Fc␥ receptor.Platelet-collagen interactions are integral to primary hemostasis (1, 2). Resting platelets using several receptors adhering to subendothelium of damaged blood vessels are activated and spread to provide finally a new nonthrombogenic surface until vasculature regeneration occurs. Reversible binding between GPIb-V-IX 1 and von Willebrand factor, associated with collagen, is crucial to slow down the platelet (especially under high shear) so that it can bind more firmly via other receptors (3, 4). This mechanism strongly parallels that of the selectins in leukocyte adhesion (5). Another important receptor is the ␣ 2 ␤ 1 integrin, which is essential for anchoring the platelet to collagen in the subendothelium (6) and for linking to the platelet cytoskeleton to prevent the receptor being torn from the membrane by the forces that it has to withstand. Activation induces the release of storage granules and the expression of new receptors on the platelet surface (7) as well as changes in other receptors such as the fibrinogen receptor, ␣ IIb ␤ 3 , which is critical for spreading. Although GPIb-V-IX and ␣ 2 ␤ 1 also participate in signaling to the platelet interior (8, 9), recent studies, particularly in patients with platelet receptor deficiencies, have implicated GPVI/Fc␥ as a major collagen receptor for platelet activation (10 -12). Patients with platelets lacking any one of these receptors (GPIb-V-IX, ␣ 2 ␤ 1 , or GPVI/Fc␥) have increased bleeding times, and platelet adhesio...