Functional modulation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor by tyrosine phosphorylation

Phosphotyrosine antibodies specifically label ameboid microglia in vitro and ramified microglia in vivo

Using an affinity-purified, polyclonal antibody to phosphotyrosine (Wang: Molecular and Cellular Biology 5:3640-3643, 1985) we have previously demonstrated that phosphotyrosine immunoreactivity is restricted to a population of multipolar GFAP-negative neuroglia in adult rat brain (Tillotson and Wood: Journal of Comparative Neurology 282:133-141, 1989) and retina (Tillotson and Wood: Journal of Cell Biology 107:724a, 1988). In this study, we show that the phosphotyrosine-immunoreactive cells are microglia. This conclusion is supported by numerous morphological and ultrastructural similarities between the phosphotyrosine-immunoreactive cells and microglia. Furthermore, phosphotyrosine co-localizes with the microglial-specific B4 isolectin of Bandeiraea simplifolia-1 lectin. Phosphotyrosine antibodies also stain ameboid microglia in primary cultures of neonatal rat brain. In addition, after 7 days in vitro, microglia are the only phosphotyrosine-immunoreactive element in the cultures. This temporal pattern of staining in vitro mimics the developmental progression of phosphotyrosine immunoreactivity in situ, in which a variety of structures stain during postnatal neural development (Tillotson and Wood: Journal of Comparative Neurology 282:133-141, 1989), but only microglia stain in mature brain. The significance of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins potentially expressed in a microglial-specific manner is discussed.

Protein kinases in neutrophils: a review

In chemotactic factor-stimulated neutrophils, rapid increases of intracellular levels of cyclic AMP, calcium, and diacylglycerol have been observed and may be linked to protein kinase activation. The study of the physiological role and regulation of protein kinases in the neutrophil and the identification of their substrates has provided valuable information on the molecular mechanism of neutrophil activation. The focus of this review is on those aspects of protein kinases that are relevant to neutrophil activation and on the substrate proteins for these protein kinases. The possible role of protein phosphorylation in neutrophil function is also discussed.