Expression of NAD glycohydrolase activity by rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells transformed with rat T cell alloantigen RT6.2.

RT6.2 is a 26-kDa alloantigen expressed only on post-thymic T cells and attached to the cell membrane through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. It has been reported that expression of RT6.2 in animal models may correlate with lymphopenia and genetically-induced insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Its physiological function is unclear. Since RT6.2 has significant amino acid identity with a GPI-anchored rabbit muscle NAD:arginine ADP-ribosyltransferase, RT6.2 was expressed in rat mammary adenocarcinoma cells and the ability of the expressed protein to catalyze ADP-ribose transfer reactions was examined. Cells transformed with the RT6.2 gene expressed NAD glycohydrolase activity that was released from intact cells by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, consistent with its presence on the cell surface. A similar activity was not detected with vector-transformed cells. RT6.2 did not ADP-ribosylate simple guanidino compounds. The molecular weight of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C-released NAD glycohydrolase, determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was 22,000-24,000, in good agreement with that of native RT6.2. These results strongly suggest that the rat T cell alloantigen RT6.2 is a GPI-anchored NAD glycohydrolase.