Interleukin-5 (IL-5) regulates the production and function of B cells, eosinophils, and basophils. The IL-S receptor (IL-5R) consists of two distinct membrane proteins, a and P. The a chain (IL-5Ra) is specific to IL-5.The chain is the common ,1 chain (Ic) of receptors for IL-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The cytoplasmic domains of both a and I1 chains are essential for signal transduction. In this study, we generated cDNAs of IL-5Ra having various mutations in their cytoplasmic domains and examined the function of these mutants by expressing them in IL-3-dependent FDC-P1 cells. The membraneproximal proline-rich sequence of the cytoplasmic domain of IL-5Ra, which is conserved among the a chains of IL-SR, IL-3R, and GM-CSF receptor (GM-CSFR), was found to be essential for the IL-5-induced proliferative response, expression of nuclear proto-oncogenes such as c-jun, c-fos, and c-myc, and tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins including JAK2 protein-tyrosine kinase. In addition, analysis using chimeric receptors which consist of the extracellular domain of IL-5Ra and the cytoplasmic domain of Dc suggested that dimerization of the cytoplasmic domain of ,c may be an important step in activating the IL-5R complex and transducing intracellular growth signals.Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is a cytokine that regulates the production and function of B cells, eosinophils, and basophils (40). The IL-5 receptor (IL-5R) consists of two distinct membrane proteins, ao and P. IL-SRa alone specifically binds IL-5 but with low affinity (27,39). While the P chain does not bind IL-5 by itself, it does form a high-affinity IL-SR in combination with IL-5Rox (6, 37, 38,41). The P chain is the common P3 chain (,c) of receptors for IL-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colonystimulating factor (GM-CSF) (23). 1c forms high-affinity receptors for IL-3 and GM-CSF, the ligands of which bind specifically with IL-3Ra and the a chain of GM-CSF receptor (GM-CSFRa), respectively (7,9,10,16,29). Pc is not only required for high-affinity binding but also essential for signal transduction. IL-5, IL-3, and GM-CSF have several overlapping functions, especially in eosinophils (23,33,40). The ,c shared by the receptors of these three cytokines provides a molecular basis for the functional redundancy of these cytokines.The extracellular domains of the a chains and ,c are similar among members of the cytokine receptor superfamily. The a. chains have a short cytoplasmic domain (-55 amino acid residues) with a short amino acid sequence which is conserved among these a chains (16,39). In contrast, ,3c has a relatively large cytoplasmic domain (-440 amino acid residues). Although the cytoplasmic domains of the a chains and ,Bc have no homology with signaling molecules such as kinases, phosphatases, nucleotide-binding proteins, and src homology domains, it has been well established that IL-5, IL-3, and GM-CSF induce rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins (13,24,28) as well as transcription of nuclear proto-oncogenes (3). ...