Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), together with protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), are involved in the regulation of cell activation, growth, and differentiation. To further elucidate the fine tuning of cell growth and differentiation through tyrosine phosphorylation, we tried to isolate mouse receptor-type PTP (RPTP) cDNA clones by screening mouse brain cDNA libraries with mouse CD45 PTP domain probes under reduced-stringency conditions. Characterization of isolated cDNA clones for RPTP showed that the cytoplasmic region contains two tandem repeats of PTP domain of about 230 amino acids with intrinsic phosphatase activity. The extracellular region was composed of immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains and fibronectin type III (FN-III)-like domains. The gene was highly homologous to human PTP delta (HPTP delta) and thus was named MPTP delta (murine counterpart of HPTP delta). The MPTP delta gene appeared to generate at least three species of mRNA, which differ in the composition of the extracellular domain: type A, one Ig-like and four FN-III-like domains; type B, one Ig-like and eight FN-III-like domains; and type C, three Ig-like and eight FN-III-like domains. Interestingly, the 5' untranslated region and the leader peptide of types A and B were completely different from those of type C. Northern (RNA) blot analysis demonstrated that brain, kidney, and heart cells express three mRNA species of about 7 kb. Antibody directed against part of the extracellular domain of type A MPTP delta recognized a 210-kDa protein in brain and kidney lysates. In situ hybridization of brain samples revealed that MPTP delta mRNA is present in the hippocampus, thalamic reticular nucleus, and piriform cortex, where some Src family PTKs have been also demonstrated to exist. Although MPTP delta mRNA was not detected in lymphoid tissues, all of the pre-B-cell lines tested and one of three B-cell lines tested expressed MPTP delta mRNA, whereas antibody-producing B-cell hybridomas and T-cell and macrophage lines did not. Finally, the MPTP delta locus was tightly linked to the brown (b) locus on mouse chromosome 4.

CD45 is a key protein tyrosine phosphatase regulating Src-family protein tyrosine kinases (Src-PTKs) in lymphocytes; precisely how it exerts its effect remains controversial, however. We previously demonstrated that CD45 negatively regulates Lyn in the WEHI-231 B-cell line. Here we show that negative regulation by CD45 is physiologically significant in B cells and that some CD45 is constitutively associated with glycolipid-enriched mi- IntroductionUpon B-cell receptor (BCR) ligation, signals are transmitted downstream through multiple pathways, ultimately leading to cell activation, proliferation, death, or anergy. [1][2][3][4] Initiation of such immune responses is driven primarily by activation of Src-family protein tyrosine kinases (Src-PTKs) whose activity is regulated, in part, by phosphorylation of 2 tyrosine residues: the autophosphorylation site, located in the activation loop of the catalytic domain, and the COOH-terminal negative regulatory site. 5 Phosphorylation of the former is a prerequisite for Src-PTK activation. Phosphorylation of the latter by COOH-terminal Src kinase (Csk) results in the intramolecular binding of the phosphotyrosine (PY) in the COOHterminal tail to the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain, yielding a closed conformation in which Src-PTK activity is attenuated. Thus, phosphorylation of the respective regulatory tyrosine residues has opposing effects on Src-PTK activity.CD45, a receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) exclusively expressed in nucleated hematopoietic cells, is known to be a major regulator of Src-PTK activation and of lymphocyte fate, 6-8 though its precise role in the regulation of Src-PTKs remains controversial. [9][10][11][12][13] One conventional model holds that when Csk phosphorylates the negative regulatory COOH-terminal tyrosine residue, leading to the aforementioned closed and inactive conformation, the dominant role of CD45 is to dephosphorylate this site, setting the stage for antigen receptor signaling to activate Src-PTKs by autophosphorylation. 14,15 This scenario is based on the findings that the COOH-terminal tyrosine residues of Lck and Fyn are hyperphosphorylated and T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling is attenuated in CD45-deficient T-cell lines and in thymocytes from Ptprc-targeted mice. [16][17][18][19][20] Moreover, similar results have also been obtained in B cells. [21][22][23] However, CD45 is also shown to dephosphorylate both of Src-PTK's regulatory tyrosine residues in both T cells 24-26 and B cells, 27,28 thereby inactivating it.We previously showed that CD45 exerts a negative regulatory effect on BCR-induced Ca 2ϩ mobilization, activation of c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, and growth arrest in immature WEHI-231 cells, 29,30 but exerts a positive regulatory effect on these processes in mature BAL-17 cells. 30,31 We further showed that, in WEHI-231 cells, CD45 constitutively inhibits Lyn by dephosphorylating both the COOH-terminal and autophosphorylation sites, but that BCR ligation induces phosphorylation of the 2 sites. 27, 2...

Src homology region 2 (SH2) domain-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) is a cytosolic protein tyrosine phosphatase containing two SH2 domains in its NH2 terminus. That immunological abnormalities of the motheaten and viable motheaten mice are caused by mutations in the gene encoding SHP-1 indicates that SHP-1 plays important roles in lymphocyte differentiation, proliferation, and activation. To elucidate molecular mechanisms by which SHP-1 regulates BCR-mediated signal transduction, we determined SHP-1 substrates in B cells using the substrate-trapping approach. When the phosphatase activity-deficient form of SHP-1, in which the catalytic center cysteine (C453) was replaced with serine (SHP-1-C/S), was introduced in WEHI-231 cells, tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein of about 70 kDa was strongly enhanced. Immunoprecipitation and Western blot analyses revealed that this protein is the B cell linker protein (BLNK), also named SH2 domain leukocyte protein of 65 kDa, and that upon tyrosine phosphorylation BLNK binds to SHP-1-C/S in vitro. In vitro kinase assays demonstrated that hyperphosphorylation of BLNK in SHP-1-C/S-expressing cells was not due to enhanced activity of Lyn or Syk. Furthermore, BCR-induced activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase was shown to be significantly enhanced in SHP-1-C/S transfectants. Taken collectively, our results suggest that BLNK is a physiological substrate of SHP-1 in B cells and that SHP-1 selectively regulates c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activation.

Cross-linking of membrane IgM receptor on B cells induces tyrosine phosphorylation within 1 min. This biochemical alteration triggers a cascade of signaling events which ultimately leads to activation in mature B cells but growth arrest and cell death by apoptosis in immature B cells. To study the mechanisms underlying the bifurcation of signals, we chose to examine the role of receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) CD45 using CD45- clones isolated from an immature B cell line WEHI-231. Here we report that in CD45- clones, tyrosine phosphorylation was constitutively induced but not enhanced by anti-IgM stimulation and anti-IgM-induced Ca2+ flux was slightly delayed but evidently prolonged. Further, the degree of growth arrest and DNA fragmentation induced by anti-IgM antibody was more evident in CD45- clones than the parental cells. These results indicate that initial alterations in signaling are effectively transduced into effector signals and that IgM receptor-mediated growth arrest and apoptosis in immature B cells are negatively regulated by CD45.

Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) is a key mediator in lymphocyte differentiation, proliferation, and activation. We previously showed that B cell linker protein (BLNK) is a physiological substrate of SHP-1 and that B cell receptor (BCR)-induced activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) is significantly enhanced in cells expressing a form of SHP-1 lacking phosphatase activity (SHP-1-C/S). In this study, we confirmed that SHP-1 also exerts negative regulatory effects on JNK activation in splenic B cells. To further clarify the role of SHP-1 in B cells, we examined how dephosphorylation of BLNK by SHP-1 affects downstream signaling events. When a BLNK mutant (BLNKΔN) lacking the NH2-terminal region, which contains four tyrosine residues, was introduced in SHP-1-C/S-expressing WEHI-231 cells, the enhanced JNK activation was inhibited. Among candidate proteins likely to regulate JNK activation through BLNK, Nck adaptor protein was found to associate with tyrosine-phosphorylated BLNK and this association was more pronounced in SHP-1-C/S-expressing cells. Furthermore, expression of dominant-negative forms of Nck inhibited BCR-induced JNK activation. Finally, BCR-induced apoptosis was suppressed in SHP-1-C/S-expressing cells and coexpression of Nck SH2 mutants or a dominant-negative form of SEK1 reversed this phenotype. Collectively, these results suggest that SHP-1 acts on BLNK, modulating its association with Nck, which in turn negatively regulates JNK activation but exerts a positive effect on apoptosis.