BLR1 Research Articles

Engineering of the high-affinity chemokine CXCL13 to screen CXCR5 antagonists to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.

CXCR5 (CD185 or Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1) is a receptor activated by the chemokine CXCL13. This G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) is expressed on T-follicular helper cells (Tfh), B cells, and CD4+ T cells in secondary lymphoid organs such as the spleen, lymph nodes, and Peyer's patches. CXCR5 is involved in Tfh cell migration to B cell follicles, where they interact with B cells to initiate the humoral immune response. Aberrant activation of the CXCR5-CXCL13 signalling axis contributes to autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis. The CXCL13:CXCR5 axis is also involved in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). Cancer and normal cells within the tumor microenvironment secrete CXCL13 to contribute to the proliferation and metastasis of these lymphomas. Antagonists of CXCR5 would be potential drug molecules to reduce the severity of cancers and autoimmune diseases. Protein engineering can make CXCL13 an effective antagonist by modifying the N-terminal sequence, known to interact with a cavity among transmembrane helices in CXCR5 and induce signaling. About 168,000 variant CXCL13 sequences were expressed by a phage display library, reduced to 98 potential CXCR5 antagonists after assays to identify inhibitors by bioinformatics, and experimentally tested for antagonism. The most potent antagonist will be further validated for its ability to prevent cell migration and cancer cell survival by fusing to IgG and using in CAR T therapy.

CXCR5 polymorphisms in non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk and prognosis.

CXCR5 [chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 5; also known as Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1 (BCR1)] is expressed on mature B-cells, subsets of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, and skin-derived migratory dendritic cells. Together with its ligand, CXCL13, CXCR5 is involved in guiding B-cells into the B-cell zones of secondary lymphoid organs as well as T-cell migration. This study evaluated the role of common germline genetic variation in CXCR5 in the risk and prognosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) using a clinic-based study of 1,521 controls and 2,694 NHL cases including 710 chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, 586 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 588 follicular lymphoma (FL), 137 mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), 230 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), and 158 peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Of the ten CXCR5 tag SNPs in our study, five were associated with risk of NHL, with rs1790192 having the strongest association (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.08-1.30; p = 0.0003). This SNP was most strongly associated with the risk of FL (OR 1.44, 95 % CI 1.25-1.66; p = 3.1 × 10(-7)), with a lower degree of association with DLBCL (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.01-1.33; p = 0.04) and PTCL (OR 1.29, 95 % CI 1.02-1.64; p = 0.04) but no association with the risk of MCL or MZL. For FL patients that were observed as initial disease management, the number of minor alleles of rs1790192 was associated with better event-free survival (HR 0.64; 95% CI 0.47-0.87; p = 0.004). These results provide additional evidence for a role of host genetic variation in CXCR5 in lymphomagenesis, particularly for FL.

CXCR5 Polymorphisms in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) Risk and Prognosis.

AbstractAbstract 2702 Background:CXCR5 [chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 5; also known as Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1 (BCR1)] is expressed on mature B-cells, subsets of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, and skin-derived migratory dendritic cells. CXCL13 is the ligand for CXCR5, and together they are involved in guiding B-cells into the B-cell zones of secondary lymphoid organs as well as T-cell migration. CXCR5 is also expressed in malignant cells in NHL patients. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CXCR5 have not been extensively studied, although two studies reported that SNPs from this chromosome 11 gene were associated with risk of primary biliary cirrhosis in a European population and with risk of NHL in an Asian population. This study evaluated the role of common germline genetic variation in the risk and prognosis of the common NHL subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). Methods:Ten SNPs in CXCR5 were genotyped using a clinic-based study of 2694 NHL cases (including 586 DLBCL, 588 FL, 137 MCL, 230 MZL, and 158 PTCL) and 1521 controls enrolled from 2002–2009 in the Molecular Epidemiology Resource of the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma SPORE. Clinical data were abstracted for all NHL patients and all were prospectively followed for disease progression, retreatment, transformation and death. SNPs were selected from HapMap using a standard tagging approach (r2≥0.80 and minor allele frequency (MAF) ≥0.05) and included SNPs 5kb upstream and downstream from the gene. Genotyping was conducted using a custom Illumina iSelect panel. All SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the control group. The most prevalent homozygous genotype was used as the reference group, and each SNP was modeled as having a log-additive effect in the regression model. For risk of NHL, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using unconditional logistic regression, adjusted for age and gender. For prognosis, hazard ratios (HR) were calculated for both event-free (EFS) and overall (OS) survival using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for age, treatment type, and IPI (DLBCL, PTCL), FLIPI (FL), or MIPI (MCL). To determine risk of FL transformation to DLBCL, a competing risk Cox model was used. A p<0.05 was declared as statistically significant. Results:Of the 10 CXCR5 tag SNPs in our study, 5 were associated with risk of NHL, with rs1790192 (MAF=0.39 among controls) having the strongest association (OR=1.19, 95%CI 1.08–1.30; p=0.0003). This SNP was strongly associated with FL (OR=1.44, 95%CI 1.25–1.66; p=3.1×10−7), and was also associated with DLBCL (OR=1.16, 95%CI 1.01–1.33; p=0.038) and PTCL (OR=1.29, 95%CI 1.02–1.64; p=0.037) but not MCL or MZL. For FL, none of the SNPs were associated with EFS or OS, although rs1790192 was associated with better outcome among FL patients that were observed (HR=0.64; 95%CI 0.47–0.87; p=0.0039). For DLBCL, none of the SNPs were associated with EFS, while three SNPs were associated with OS: rs523604 (HR=0.79; 95%CI 0.64–0.97; p=0.028), rs12363277 (HR=0.57; 95%CI 0.33–0.99; p=0.046), and rs3922 (HR=0.79; 95%CI 0.65–0.97; p=0.027). The latter SNP was also associated with risk of transformation from FL to DLBCL (HR=0.61; 95%CI 0.40–0.91; p=0.016). For MCL, MZL and PTCL, none of the SNPs were associated with either EFS or OS. Conclusions:Several germline CXCR5 polymorphisms were associated with NHL risk, particularly rs1790192 with risk of FL as well as DLBCL and PTCL. CXCR5 SNPs did not appear to be important in prognosis for most NHL subtypes, although rs1790192 was associated with a better outcome in untreated FL and rs3922 was associated with OS in DLBCL patients and with risk of FL transformation. These results provide additional evidence for a role of host genetic variation in CXCR5 in lymphomagenesis, mainly in risk of disease development, although there may also be a role for CXCR5 in FL and DLBCL prognosis. Replications of these findings in additional studies are needed. Disclosures:Ansell:Seattle Genetics, Inc.: Research Funding.

Chronic lung inflammation in aging mice

To determine whether aging is associated with a pro-inflammatory shift in the lung, inflammation and inflammation-related gene expression in the lungs of 12-week-old and 24-month-old Balb/c mice were studied. cDNA microarray and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analyses showed that eight inflammation-related genes, including CD20, Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1, CXCR-3, provirus integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus-2, CD72, IL-8RB, C-Fgr, and CD8β, were upregulated in the aged mice. Immunohistochemistry showed that the lungs of the aged mice contained increased numbers of CD4 cells, CD8 cells, B cells and macrophages. These results suggest that a pro-inflammatory shift occurs in the lungs of mice with aging.

An Hour after Immunization Peritoneal B-1 Cells Are Activated to Migrate to Lymphoid Organs Where within 1 Day They Produce IgM Antibodies That Initiate Elicitation of Contact Sensitivity

Elicitation of contact sensitivity (CS), a classic example of T cell-mediated immunity, requires Ag-specific IgM Abs to trigger an initiation process. This early process leads to local recruitment of CS-effector T cells after secondary Ag challenge. These Abs are produced by the B-1 subset of B cells within 1 day after primary skin immunization. In this study we report the surprising observation that B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity are activated as early as 1 h after naive mice are painted with a contact-sensitizing Ag on the skin of the trunk and feet to begin the initiation of CS. B-1 cells in the spleen and draining lymph nodes produce the initiating Abs by 1 day after immunization, when we found increased numbers of Ag-specific IgM Ab-producing cells in these tissues by ELISPOT assay. Importantly, we show that contact-activated peritoneal B-1 cells migrate to these lymphoid tissues and then differentiate into Ag-specific IgM Ab-producing cells, resulting in specific CS-initiating IgM Abs in the serum by 1 day. Furthermore, pertussis toxin, which is known to inhibit signaling via G protein-coupled chemokines, inhibited the migration of contact-activated peritoneal B-1 cells to the lymphoid tissues, probably due to BLR-1 (Burkitt lymphoma receptor-1). These findings indicate that within 1 h after contact skin immunization, B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity are activated to migrate to the lymphoid tissues by chemokine-dependent mechanisms to produce serum Ag-specific IgM Abs within 1 day after immunization, leading to local recruitment of CS-effector T cells.

A novel retinoic acid-responsive element regulates retinoic acid-induced BLR1 expression.

The mechanism of action of retinoic acid (RA) is of broad relevance to cell and developmental biology, nutrition, and cancer chemotherapy. RA is known to induce expression of the Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1) gene which propels RA-induced cell cycle arrest and differentiation of HL-60 human myeloblastic leukemia cells, motivating the present analysis of transcriptional regulation of blr1 expression by RA. The RA-treated HL-60 cells used here expressed all RA receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) subtypes (as detected by Northern analysis) except RXRgamma. Treatment with RAR- and RXR-selective ligands showed that RARalpha synergized with RXRalpha to transcriptionally activate blr1 expression. A 5'-flanking region capable of supporting RA-induced blr1 activation in HL-60 cells was found to contain a 205-bp sequence in the distal portion that was necessary for transcriptional activation by RA. Within this sequence DNase I footprinting revealed that RA induced binding of a nuclear protein complex to an element containing two GT boxes. Electromobility shift assays (EMSAs) and supershift assays showed that this element bound recombinant RARalpha and RXRalpha. Without RA there was neither complex binding nor transcriptional activation. Both GT boxes were needed for binding the complex, and mutation of either GT box caused the loss of transcriptional activation by RA. The ability of this cis-acting RAR-RXR binding element to activate transcription in response to RA also depended on downstream sequences where an octamer transcription factor 1 (Oct1) site and a nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc) site between this element and the transcriptional start, as well as a cyclic AMP response element binding factor (CREB) site between the transcriptional start and first exon of the blr1 gene, were necessary. Each of these sites bound its corresponding transcription factor. A transcription factor-transcription factor binding array analysis of nuclear lysate from RA-treated cells indicated several prominent RARalpha binding partners; among these, Oct1, NFATc3, and CREB2 were identified by competition EMSA and supershift and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays as components of the complex. RA upregulated expression of these three factors. In sum the results of the present study indicate that RA-induced expression of blr1 expression depends on a novel RA response element. This cis-acting element approximately 1 kb upstream of the transcriptional start consists of two GT boxes that bind RAR and RXR in a nuclear protein complex that also contains Oct1, NFATc3, and CREB2 bound to their cognate downstream consensus binding sites.

HUMAN B CELL-ATTRACTING CHEMOKINE 1 (BCA-1; CXCL13) IS AN AGONIST FOR THE HUMAN CXCR3 RECEPTOR

The CXC chemokine CXCL13, known as BCA-1 (B cell-attracting chemokine 1) or BLC (B-lymphocyte chemoattractant), has been identified as an efficacious attractant selective for B lymphocytes. The chemokine receptor BLR1 (Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1)/CXCR5 expressed by all mature B cells has to date been identified as the only known receptor for BCA-1. As the loss of the BLR1/CXCR5 receptor is sufficient to disrupt organization of follicles in spleen and Peyer's patches, BCA-1 may act as a B cell homing chemokine. Nonetheless, BCA-1 has not been tested against all known chemokine receptors. In this study, we report that human BCA-1 competes with radiolabeled interferon gamma (IFN-γ) inducible protein 10 (IP-10) for binding to the human CXCR3 receptor expressed in Ba/F3 and 293EBNA cell lines. Furthermore, human BCA-1 is an efficacious attractant for human CXCR3 transfected cells; BCA-1-induced chemotaxis is inhibited by a monoclonal antibody against human CXCR3. In these cells, as in human B lymphocytes expressing CXCR5, BCA-1 does not induce a calcium flux. Indeed, BCA-1 attenuates the calcium flux induced by IP-10. In addition, human BCA-1 is an agonist in stimulating GTPγS binding. Together these data suggest that human BCA-1 is a specific and functional G-protein-linked chemotactic ligand for the human CXCR3 receptor. The biological significance of this new finding is supported by our recent observation that human BCA-1 induces chemotaxis of activated T cells and the BCA-1-induced chemotaxis is inhibited by a monoclonal antibody against human CXCR3.

Efficient data mining of proteins involved in carcinogenesis by functional classification using Interpro

Data mining in most cases relies on and is limited by a biologist's experience and knowledge. It is concentration- and time-intensive. We have developed an original hierarchical protein family classification, based primarily on protein sequence motifs, functional domains and cellular localization. This protein classification schema has been generated by classifying entries in Interpro 1.2, an integrated resource of protein families, domains and sites1. By using this new classification, one can effectively and rapidly mine data on proteins involved in oncogenesis. This classification is especially tailored toward the biopharmaceutical industry and drug discovery efforts, and it has been extensively used in Hyseq's internal data-mining processes. The hierarchical protein classification has 9 main classes, 56 subclasses, and 3,052 Interpro entries. These Interpro entries represent 574 domains, 2,418 families, 46 repeats and 14 post-translational modification sites from clustering PRINTS, PROSITE, ProDom, SWISS-PROT, TrEMBL and Pfam data. We generate Pfam models by multiple protein sequence alignments and express them mathematically in the form of hidden Markov models. To demonstrate the utility of our classification schema, we searched the SWISS-PROT and TrEMBL databases with Pfam models. Of the 31% of protein sequences that had significant Pfam hits, 4,520 sequences were in the cancer subclass. At present 59 Interpro entries exist in this subclass. These entries include breast cancer susceptibility proteins, retinoblastoma protein domains, p53 tumor antigen, Xeroderma pigmentosum proteins and the Burkitt's lymphoma receptor.

Retinoic acid-induced blr1 expression requires RARα, RXR, and MAPK activation and uses ERK2 but not JNK/SAPK to accelerate cell differentiation

Upstream signaling requirements of retinoic acid (RA)-induced blr1 expression and downstream signaling consequences of blr1 over-expression in a human myeloid leukemia cell line demonstrate that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling complexes are involved in both avenues. RA-induced myeloid differentiation and G1/G0 growth arrest of HL-60 cells is known to require the activation of the RARalpha and RXR retinoid receptors, as well as activation of the MAPK, ERK2. Transcriptional activation of the Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (blr1) gene occurs early during RA-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells and requires these same three activating processes. The use of retinoid ligands that activate either the RARalpha or the RXR retinoid receptors revealed that blr1 mRNA induction was detectable only when both RARalpha and RXR were activated. Neither the RARalpha nor RXR selective ligands alone induced expression of blr1, but the combination of the two ligands induced the expression of blr1 to the same extent as RA. The MAPKK (MEK) inhibitor, PD98059, was used to determine whether extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK2) activation was necessary for induction of blr1 mRNA. PD98059 inhibited induced blr1 mRNA expression, due to RA or activated RARalpha plus RXR ligands, indicating that ERK2 activation is necessary for blr1 mRNA expression. Previous studies showed that ectopic expression of blr1 also caused increased MAPK activation, in particular ERK2, and subsequently accelerated RA-induced differentiation and G1/G0 growth arrest. Inhibition of ERK2 activation inhibited differentiation of blr1 transfectants, suggesting that the accelerated differentiation reflected blr1-enhanced ERK2 activation. The present data also demonstrate that ectopic expression of blr1 increased JNK/SAPK activity, but JNK/ SAPK activation was not needed for accelerated RA-induced differentiation and growth arrest. The results show that the signals known to be required for HL-60 differentiation, activated RARalpha, RXR, and ERK2, are necessary for blr1 mRNA expression. Downstream consequences of blr1 overexpression include enhanced MAPK signaling.

Retinoic Acid-Induced blr1 Expression Promotes ERK2 Activation and Cell Differentiation in HL-60 Cells

Retinoids are known to induce the differentiation and cell cycle arrest of human myeloid leukemia cells in vitro. Differential display was used to identify putative early regulatory genes that are differentially expressed in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells treated with retinoic acid. One of the cDNAs cloned encodes sequences identifying Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1), a recently described chemokine receptor. Northern blot analysis demonstrates that blr1 mRNA expression increases within 9 h of retinoic acid treatment, well before functional differentiation or G1/G0 growth arrest at 48 h or onset of morphological changes, suggesting a possible regulatory function. The expression of blr1 mRNA is transient, peaking at 72 h when cells are differentiated. blr1 mRNA also is induced by other differentiation-inducing agents, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and DMSO. Induction of blr1 mRNA by retinoic acid is not blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. In HL-60 cells stably transfected with blr1 cDNA, ectopic expression of blr1 causes an increase in ERK2 MAPK activation and promotes retinoic acid-induced G1/G0 growth arrest and cell differentiation. The early expression of blr1 mRNA during differentiation, its ability to increase ERK2 activation, and its enhancement of retinoic acid-induced differentiation suggest that blr1 expression may be involved in retinoic acid-induced HL-60 differentiation.

Chemokine receptor mRNA expression at the in vitro blood-brain barrier during HIV infection.

Viral entry through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has not been fully defined and identification of coreceptors that can facilitate this phenomenon is crucial in understanding disease progression. Using a RNAse protection assay to examine chemokine receptor families simultaneously, we analyzed the total RNA of in vitro BBB cultures treated with purified preparations of HIV gp120, gp41, TAT proteins and TNF-alpha. HIV tat protein affected CCRI and CCR3 mRNA expression whereas the other viral by-products had no effect. Interestingly, TNF-alpha was able to induce CCR1, CCR3 as well as CXCR1, CXCR2, CXCR4 receptors and Burkitt's lymphoma receptor BLR2. These results suggest that HIV-induced molecules can manipulate the surface receptor expression of the BBB to allow for their preferential entry into brain.

Spontaneous follicular exclusion of SHP1-deficient B cells is conditional on the presence of competitor wild-type B cells.

Engagement of antigen receptors on mature B lymphocytes is known to block cell entry into lymphoid follicles and promote accumulation in T cell zones, yet the molecular basis for this change in cell distribution is not understood. Previous studies have shown that follicular exclusion requires a threshold level of antigen receptor engagement combined with occupancy of follicles by B cells without equivalent receptor engagement. The possibility has been raised that follicular composition affects B cell positioning by altering the amount of available antigen and the degree of receptor occupancy. Here we show that follicular composition affects migration of mature B cells under conditions that are independent of antigen receptor occupancy. B cells deficient in the negative regulatory protein tyrosine phosphatase, SHP1, which have elevated intracellular signaling by the B cell receptor, are shown to accumulate in the T zone in the absence of their specific antigen. Follicular exclusion of SHP1-deficient B cells was found to be conditional on the presence of excess B cells that lack elevated intracellular signaling, and was not due to a failure of SHP-1-deficient cells to mature and express the follicle-homing chemokine receptor Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1. These findings strongly suggest that signals that are negatively regulated by SHP1 promote B cell localization in T cell zones by reducing competitiveness for follicular entry, and provide further evidence that follicular composition influences the positioning of antigen-engaged B cells.

A B-cell-homing chemokine made in lymphoid follicles activates Burkitt's lymphoma receptor-1.

Secondary lymphoid organs (spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches) are divided into compartments, such as B-cell zones (follicles) and T-cell zones, which provide specialized environments for specific steps of the immune response. Migration of lymphocyte subsets into these compartments is essential for normal immune function, yet the molecular cues guiding this cellular traffic are poorly defined. Chemokines constitute a family of chemotactic cytokines that have been shown to direct the migration of leukocytes during inflammation and which may be involved in the constitutive homing of lymphocytes into follicles and T-cell zones. Here we describe a novel chemokine, B-lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC), that is strongly expressed in the follicles of Peyer's patches, the spleen and lymph nodes. BLC strongly attracts B lymphocytes while promoting migration of only small numbers of T cells and macrophages, and therefore is the first chemokine to be identified that is selective towards B cells. An orphan chemokine receptor, Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR-1), has been found to be required for B-cell migration into lymphoid follicles. We show that BLC stimulates calcium influx into, and chemotaxis of, cells transfected with BLR-1. Our results indicate that BLC functions as a BLR-1 ligand and may guide B lymphocytes to follicles in secondary lymphoid organs.

Characterization of colorectal-cancer-related cDNA clones obtained by subtractive hybridization screening.

In an attempt to seek out new factors that are related to colorectal carcinogenesis at the molecular level, subtractive hybridization between cDNA of normal mucosal tissues and mRNA of colorectal carcinoma tissues was performed. Subsequent screenings of the cDNA libraries, constructed from normal mucosal tissues, using the "subtractive probes" generated a total of 46 clones that were expressed in normal mucosa but were either expressed at a significantly reduced level or not expressed at all in cancer tissues. Partial nucleotide sequences of all of these cDNA clones were determined, and sequence homology analyses were performed with the Genbank database. Of the 46 cDNA samples, 44 contained substantial sequence homologies with 32 immunoglobulin gene fragments, a helix-loop-helix basic phosphoprotein gene, an acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein P2 gene, a BLR1 gene for Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 gene, D5S419 DNA segment containing (C-A) repeats, a glucokinase (GCK) gene, a Na+, K+-ATPase alpha-subunit gene, a histocompatibility system HLA-DR heavy-chain gene, a dystrophic gene, a mucin (MUC2) gene, a mu-glutathione S-transferase gene, a Menkes disease protein gene, and a 40-kDa keratin intermediate filament precursor gene. The remaining two cDNA clones (now registered under GenBank accession numbers U17714 and U20428) showed few (less than 60%) sequence homologies with any known sequences in the GenBank database and, therefore, may represent novel genes whose expression was down-regulated in human colorectal carcinomas. The possible clinical significance of these findings and the involvement of these two genes in the carcinogenesis of colorectal as well as other cancers are being investigated.

Identification of CCR6, the Specific Receptor for a Novel Lymphocyte-directed CC Chemokine LARC

Liver and activation-regulated chemokine (LARC) is a recently identified CC chemokine that is expressed mainly in the liver. LARC functions as a selective chemoattractant for lymphocytes that express a class of receptors specifically binding to LARC with high affinity. To identifiy the receptor for LARC, we examined LARC-induced calcium mobilization in cells stably expressing five CC chemokine receptors (CCR1-CCR5) and five orphan seven-transmembrane receptors. LARC specifically induced calcium flux in K562 cells as well as 293/EBNA-1 cells stably expressing an orphan receptor GPR-CY4. LARC induced migration in 293/EBNA-1 cells stably expressing GPR-CY4 with a bi-modal dose-response curve. LARC fused with secreted alkaline phosphatase (LARC-SEAP) bound specifically to Raji cells stably expressing GPR-CY4 with a Kd of 0.9 nM. Only LARC but not five other CC chemokines (MCP-1, RANTES, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, and TARC) competed with LARC-SEAP for binding to GPR-CY4. By Northern blot analysis, GPR-CY4 mRNA was expressed mainly in spleen, lymph nodes, Appendix, and fetal liver among various human tissues. Among various leukocyte subsets, GPR-CY4 mRNA was detected in lymphocytes (CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells and B cells) but not in natural killer cells, monocytes, or granulocytes. Expression of GPR-CY4 mRNA in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells was strongly up-regulated by IL-2. Taken together, GPR-CY4 is the specific receptor for LARC expressed selectively on lymphocytes, and LARC is a unique functional ligand for GPR-CY4. We propose GPR-CY4 to be designated as CCR6.

Sequence variation of a novel heptahelical leucocyte receptor through alternative transcript formation.

Chemoattractants, including chemokines such as interleukin 8 (IL-8) and related proteins, activate leucocytes via seven-transmembrane-domain G-protein-coupled receptors. A cDNA for a novel receptor of this kind consisting of 327 amino acids was isolated from a human blood monocyte cDNA library. The polypeptide, termed monocyte-derived receptor 15 (MDR15), is an alternative form of the Burkitt's lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1) encoded by a human Burkitt's lymphoma cDNA [Dobner, Wolf, Emrich and Lipp (1992) Eur. J. Immunol. 22, 2795-2799]. MDR15 and BLR1 cDNAs differ in the 5' region, where the open reading frame of MDR15 is shorter by 45 codons. Southern-blot analysis indicates that the two transcripts for MDR15 and BLR1 are encoded by the same gene. Northern-blot analysis using a probe that hybridizes with both mRNAs demonstrated high-level expression in chronic B-lymphoid leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cells and, to a lesser extent, peripheral blood monocytes and lymphocytes. Reverse transcription-PCR studies with MDR15- and BLR1-specific primers showed similar levels of transcripts for both receptors in RNA that was positive in Northern-blot analysis. MDR15 and BLR1 have high structural similarity to receptors for human IL-8 (about 40% amino acid identity) and other chemokines. However, none of a series of radiolabelled chemokines (IL-8, NAP-2, GRO alpha, PF4, IP10, MCP-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, I-309, RANTES and MIP-1 alpha) and other ligands (C3a and leukotriene B4) bound to Jurkat transfectants that stably expressed either MDR15 or BLR1 mRNA. The fact that MDR15 and BLR1 are expressed on leucocytes and show marked sequence similarity to chemokine receptors suggests the existence of as yet unidentified chemokines. Alternative transcript formation affecting the 5'-terminal part of the coding region may be a way to modify ligand-binding selectivity.