RESUMO
CD21 (complement receptor 2, CR2) binds the terminal proteolytic fragments of the third component of complement (C3) that have been covalently attached to immune complexes or other targets during the activation of complement. We used the technique of in vivo biotinylation to create a recombinant multivalent ligand for CD21. A sequence coding for a biotinylation signal peptide was added to the 3' end of the human C3dg cDNA. The modified C3dg was expressed in Escherichia coli and biotinylated intracellularly by the bacterial biotin holoenzyme synthetase (BirA) enzyme. Monomeric C3dg was unable to bind to CD21 as determined by flow cytometry, while biotinylated recombinant C3dg (rC3dg) complexed with fluorochrome-conjugated streptavidin bound tightly. Binding was observed using CD21 positive B cells but not seen on pre-B cells that do not express this complement receptor. Two assays were used to assess the functional capacity of the recombinant C3dg. First, multimeric C3dg caused the phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated kinase, p38, in mature B lymphoma cells. Second, C3dg greatly enhanced the activation of primary B cells in combination with a sub-stimulatory concentration of anti-IgM monoclonal antibody. These results illustrate the utility of the technique of in vivo biotinylation to generate ligands for cell surface receptors that require multimerization for high avidity binding and function.
Assuntos
Complemento C3b/biossíntese , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/biossíntese , Receptores de Complemento 3d/metabolismo , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Linfócitos B/imunologia , Sequência de Bases , Biotina , Linhagem Celular , Complemento C3b/química , Complemento C3b/genética , Complemento C3b/metabolismo , DNA Complementar/genética , Escherichia coli/genética , Humanos , Técnicas In Vitro , Ligantes , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/química , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/genética , Fragmentos de Peptídeos/metabolismo , Engenharia de Proteínas , Sinais Direcionadores de Proteínas/genética , Estrutura Quaternária de Proteína , Proteínas Recombinantes/biossíntese , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Transdução de SinaisRESUMO
Expression of the ectoenzyme gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is regulated on T lymphocytes. It is present at a low level on naive T cells, at a high level on activated T cells, and at an intermediate level on resting memory T cells. GGT cleaves the glutamyl group from glutathione, which is the first step in the uptake of extracellular glutathione. In vitro, purified GGT also metabolizes the naturally occurring nitrosothiol, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). Because of this relationship, the effects of cellular GGT on the metabolism of and cellular response to GSNO were tested. The GGT-negative lymphoblasts Ramos and SupT1 were transfected with cDNA for human GGT. In the presence of cells lacking GGT, GSNO is extremely stable. In contrast, GGT-expressing cells rapidly metabolize GSNO leading to nitric oxide release. The nitric oxide causes a rapid (<2-h) inhibition of DNA synthesis. There is a concomitant decrease in the concentration of intracellular deoxyribonucleotides, suggesting that one effect of the nitric oxide generated from GSNO is the previously described inactivation of the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase. GSNO also caused a rapid, GGT-dependent cytostatic effect in Hut-78, a human T cell lymphoma, as well as in activated peripheral blood T cells. Although DNA synthesis was decreased to 16% of control values in anti-CD3-stimulated Hut-78, the production of IL-2 was unchanged by GSNO. These data show that GGT, a regulated ectoenzyme on T cells, controls the rate of nitric oxide production from GSNO and thus markedly affects the physiological response to this biologically active nitrosothiol.
