Abstract
A NUMBER of lymphocyte surface proteins are anchored in the cell membrane by glycophosphatidyl inositol (known as GPI) linkages instead of hydrophobic protein domains1,2. Treatment of mouse T lymphocytes with antibodies specific for two such proteins, Thy-1 and Ly-6, are known to induce proliferation3,4. We have found that antibodies specific for Qa-2, a GPI-anchored class I histocompatibility antigen5, can also activate mouse T cells. To determine whether the GPI-anchor is important for this pathway of cell activation, we produced transgenic mice expressing either normal GPI-anchored Qa-2, or Qa-2 molecules with a membrane-spanning protein domain derived from H-2. Our studies show that only lymphocytes from transgenic mice carrying GPI-anchored forms of Qa-2 can be activated in vitro by Qa-2-specific antibodies. We also show that transgenic mouse T cells expressing a GPI-anchored form of H-2Db can be activated by anti-H-2Db antibodies. These results strongly indicate that the GPI-anchor is critical for this pathway of T cell activation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 85-87 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 342 |
Issue number | 6245 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1989 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General