N. K. Tonks

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) represent a diverse family of enzymes that exist as integral membrane and nonreceptor forms. The PTPs, with specific activities in vitro 10 to 1000 times greater than those of the protein tyrosine kinases would be expected to effectively control the amount of phosphotyrosine in the cell. They dephosphorylate tyrosyl residues in vivo and take part in signal transduction and cell cycle regulation. Most of the transmembrane forms, such as the leukocyte common antigen (CD45), contain two conserved intracellular catalytic domains; but their external segments are highly variable. The structural features of the transmembrane forms suggest that these receptor-linked PTPs are capable of transducing external signals; however, the ligands remain unidentified. A hypothesis is proposed explaining how phosphatases might act synergistically with the kinases to elicit a full physiological response, without regard to the state of phosphorylation of the target proteins.

It has been proposed on the basis of amino acid sequence homology that the leukocyte common antigen CD45 represents a family of catalytically active, receptor-linked protein tyrosine phosphatases [Charbonneau, H., Tonks, N. K., Walsh, K. A., & Fischer, E. H. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 7182-7186]. The present study confirms that CD45 possesses intrinsic protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) activity. First, a mouse monoclonal antibody to CD45 (mAb 9.4) specifically eliminated, by precipitation, PTPase activity from a high Mr fraction containing CD45, prepared by gel filtration (Sephacryl S200) of a Triton X-100 extract of human spleen. Second, PTPase activity was demonstrated in a highly purified preparation of CD45 that was eluted with a high pH buffer from an affinity column, constructed from the same antibody. Third, on sucrose density gradient centrifugation, PTPase activity was only found in those fractions that contained CD45 as determined by Western analysis. When CD45 was caused to aggregate, first by reacting it with mAb 9.4 and then adding a secondary, cross-linking anti-mouse mAb, the PTPase activity shifted to the same higher Mr fractions that contained CD45. No shift in CD45 or PTPase was observed following addition of a control IgG2a. On this basis, it is concluded that CD45 is a protein tyrosine phosphatase.