Association of Lyn tyrosine kinase to the GM-CSF and IL-3 receptor common betac subunit and role of Src tyrosine kinases in DNA synthesis and anti-apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: After GM-CSF or IL-3 stimulation, the activation of JAK2 tyrosine kinase and members of the Src family of tyrosine kinases takes place, followed by phosphorylation of betac tyrosine residues and the recruitment of SH2 containing molecules to the receptor complex. The exact role of Src kinases such as Lyn in this and other downstream signal transduction events remains unclear.
RESULTS: We investigated the association of Lyn kinase with betac using synthetic peptides derived from the eight betac tyrosine residues and the Box 1 motif. We found that Lyn kinase GST fusion proteins bind to peptides corresponding to the membrane proximal region of betac and to peptides containing specific betac derived phosphorylated tyrosine residues. We also determined that betac tyrosine residues Y1,2 as well as Y7 and Y8 can act as substrates of Lyn. We further analysed the role of the Src kinases in DNA synthesis and anti-apoptosis downstream of GM-CSF by using the Src kinase inhibitor PP1 in murine BA/F3 cells stably expressing a series of mutant betac receptors.
CONCLUSIONS: Lyn binds to betac derived peptides through multiple interactions, and may play an important role in betac phosphorylation. Src family kinases also play an essential role in GM-CSF mediated DNA synthesis, as well as an important role in anti-apoptosis in response to GM-CSF.