ABSTRACT
The complement system augments the humoral immune response, possibly by a mechanism that involves the B lymphocyte membrane receptor, CR2, which binds the C3dg fragment of C3 and triggers several B cell responses in vitro. The present study demonstrates that CR2 associates with a complex of membrane proteins that may mediate signal transduction by ligated CR2. Monoclonal antibodies to CR2 immunoprecipitated from digitonin lysates of Raji B lymphoblastoid cells a membrane complex containing CR2, approximately equimolar amounts of CD19, which is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, and three unidentified components: p130, p50, and p20. The complex, which was immunoprecipitated also with anti-CD19, could be dissociated by Nonidet P-40, accounting for its absence in previous studies of CR2. Expression of recombinant CR2 and CD19 in K562 erythroleukemia cells led to formation of a complex that contained not only these two proteins but also p130, p50, and p20, and another component, p14. These unidentified components of the CR2/CD19 complex coimmunoprecipitated with CD19 and not with CR2 from singly transfected cells, indicating primary association with the former. CD19 replicated the capacity of CR2 to interact synergistically with mIgM for increasing free intracellular Ca2+, suggesting that the complex mediates this function of CR2. Therefore, CR2 associates directly with CD19 to become a ligand-binding subunit of a pre-existing signal transduction complex of the B cell that may be representative of a family of membrane protein complexes. This interaction between the complement and immune systems differs from that between immunoglobulin and Clq by involving membrane rather than plasma proteins, and by having complement involved in the afferent phase of the immune response.
Subject(s)
Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte/physiology , B-Lymphocytes/immunology , Receptors, Complement/physiology , Antigens, CD/metabolism , Antigens, CD/physiology , Antigens, CD19 , Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte/metabolism , Digitonin , Humans , Immunoglobulin M/metabolism , Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute , Macromolecular Substances , Membrane Proteins/metabolism , Receptors, Complement/metabolism , Receptors, Complement 3d , Signal Transduction/immunology , TransfectionABSTRACT
Human synovium obtained at arthroplasty from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) were characterized by assessing mast cell morphology, content and function. Histological studies confirmed significant numbers of mast cells in both RA and OA synovium. Electron microscopic data support the morphologic similarity between human synovial mast cells and human mast cells in lung and intestine. Likewise, synovial mast cells do not appear to be functionally different from pulmonary or intestinal mucosal mast cells. Mast cell suspensions with a cellular histamine content of 4.3 +/- 0.5 pg/cell (mean +/- SEM) released histamine following provocation with anti-IgE and calcium ionophore but not compound 48/80, f-met peptide or bradykinin. Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and leukotriene C4 (LTC4) were also released in response to anti-IgE. Auranofin inhibited anti-IgE provoked histamine, PGD2 and LTC4 release while gold sodium thiomalate, cromolyn and indomethacin had no effect on histamine release. Theophylline inhibited anti-IgE induced histamine release only at concentrations greater than or equal to 10(-3) M. Our study argues against functional or morphologic mast cell heterogeneity of human intestinal, lung and synovial origin and suggests that mast cells may have a pathogenic role in both RA and OA.
