Ig heavy chain extracellular spacer confers unique glycosylation of the Mb-1 component of the B cell antigen receptor complex.

Abstract

A unique functional role for the B cell Ag receptor, IgD, has not yet been identified. A number of properties of IgD, such as distinct intron-exon organization and a conserved pattern of developmental expression, suggest a selective evolutionary advantage for this receptor isotype. To explore structural features of IgD that may confer unique functions, chimeric Ag receptors were generated in which small segments of the IgD heavy chain membrane proximal regions were substituted for corresponding segments of the IgM heavy chain. Polypeptides that associate with the Ig receptors were analyzed. Mb-1/Ig-alpha, a signal transduction molecule, is known to be glycosylated in a distinct manner when associated with IgD compared to when associated with other isotypes. We report that this differential glycosylation results because one N-linked carbohydrate on Mb-1 fails to be processed into an Endo-H-resistant form when associated with IgM or IgG, whereas both N-linked carbohydrates are processed on Mb-1 associated with IgD. By preparing chimeric IgM-IgD heavy chains, substitution of the IgD extracellular spacer segment alone was found to be necessary and sufficient to confer an IgD-type glycosylation pattern on the Mb-1 molecule. This altered glycosylation pattern, however, did not confer a detectable difference in calcium mobilization or in protein tyrosine phosphorylation upon receptor stimulation. Interestingly, a similar altered glycosylation pattern has been reported for the T cell Ag receptor complex in which carbohydrates on the CD3 delta-chain are fully processed in gamma delta-T cell receptors but only partially processed in alpha beta-T cell receptors.