Tetraspanin CD37 Directly Mediates Transduction of Survival and Apoptotic Signals

Rosa Lapalombella, Yuh Ying Yeh, Liwen Wang, Asha Ramanunni, Sarwish Rafiq, Shruti Jha, Justin Staubli, David M. Lucas, Rajeswaran Mani, Sarah E.M. Herman, Amy J. Johnson, Arletta Lozanski, Leslie Andritsos, Jeffrey Jones, Joseph M. Flynn, Brian Lannutti, Peter Thompson, Paul Algate, Scott Stromatt, David JarjouraXiaokui Mo, Dasheng Wang, Ching Shih Chen, Gerard Lozanski, Nyla A. Heerema, Susheela Tridandapani, Michael A. Freitas, Natarajan Muthusamy, John C. Byrd

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

122 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tetraspanins are commonly believed to act only as "molecular facilitators," with no direct role in signal transduction. We herein demonstrate that upon ligation, CD37, a tetraspanin molecule expressed on mature normal and transformed B cells, becomes tyrosine phosphorylated, associates with proximal signaling molecules, and initiates a cascade of events leading to apoptosis. Moreover, we have identified two tyrosine residues with opposing regulatory functions: one lies in the N-terminal domain of CD37 in a predicted "ITIM-like" motif and mediates SHP1-dependent death, whereas the second lies in a predicted "ITAM motif" in the C-terminal domain of CD37 and counteracts death signals by mediating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent survival.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)694-708
Number of pages15
JournalCancer Cell
Volume21
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 25 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

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