Structural and Functional Roles of Transmembrane Domains in B-cell Receptor Signalling

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The B-cell receptor (BCR) complex, comprised of an antigen-binding subunit (membrane immunoglobulin, mIg) and a signalling subunit (the CD79a-b heterodimer), is one of the most important immune receptors in humans and controls B-cell development, activity, selection and death. Yet the mechanism of BCR signalling remains a matter of speculation, partly because of a lack of atomic-level structural data that reveals regions of the complex critical for functional receptor assembly, transport, and signal transmission, namely the transmembrane domains (TMDs). We hypothesise that the TMDs of the three proteins in the BCR complex are mediators of strong and specific (yet uncharacterised) interactions, and outline here work that would yield a molecular-level description of the structures and interactions of the BCR TMDs for the first time. Our hypothesis is based on reports dating back over 25 years which implicate the TM domains as sites of functionally essential protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions, but have thus far not revealed a molecular level understanding of this role. This proposal outlines a molecular-level, biophysical investigation of the structures and interactions of the BCR TMDs, which we will use to design molecules to modulate BCR function. Specifically, we will (i) characterise the strength and sequence dependence of TMD interactions within and between components of the BCR complex in a natural membrane, (ii) utilise a panel of biophysical methods to characterise the structure, stability, stoichiometry and atomic details of TMD interactions in multiple (synthetic) lipid environments, and (iii) use this new information to design and test ability of molecules to disrupt interactions and modify BCR signalling and function in situ. This work will yield the first map of interactions between the BCR TMDs and the first structural data for the BCR TMDs in different lipid environments, thus enhancing our mechanistic understanding of BCR signalling and supporting efforts in basic immunology. The molecules we design would act as a proof of concept that BCR modulation is possible using this approach, and provide a platform for a more comprehensive drug discovery programme in the future towards new theraputic treatments for autoimmune diseases, B-cell leukaemias and lymphomas.