Modulation of PLCgamma2-Mediated Signaling Via its C2-Domain in B Lymphocytes

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Optimal immune responses require adequate ionic supply and carefully regulated ion-homeostasis. The adverse effects of low-Mg2+ conditions on immunity are well documented, but mechanistic insights into this Mg2+-sensitivity are lacking. The recently discovered protein TRPM7 is the unique fusion of an active Ser/Thr kinase with an ion channel, and a master regulator of Mg2+-homeostasis. TRPM7 has been shown to interact with several phospholipase C (PLC) isozymes. PLC proteins are at the heart of crucial signaling pathways required for the development and activation of virtually every immune cell type, including B-lymphocytes, which are the cellular architects of humoral immune responses. PLCg2 is central to B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, and mediates B- cell maturation as well as activation. We propose that TRPM7-kinase modulates BCR- signaling in accordance to the availability of Mg2+ through Ser/Thr phosphorylation of PLCg2. The regulation of PLCg2 by Tyr-phosphorylation has been amply characterized, but its modulation by Ser/Thr phosphorylation is only postulated, although highly probable, since the vast majority of cellular phosphorylation events involve Ser/Thr residues. We have gathered preliminary experimental evidence in cell lines supporting our main hypothesis that the C2-domain of PLCg2 is a substrate of TRPM7-kinase, resulting in the Mg2+-sensitive modulation of BCR-elicited Ca2+-responses. This proposal aims at further exploring the effect of this novel phosphorylation event on PLCg2's localization, Tyr-phosphorylation and enzymatic activity, as well as to investigate its physiological relevance in vivo using a complementation approach in an existing mouse model of PLCg2 deficiency.