Nature Immunology 6, 1168 - 1176 (2005)
Published online: 2 October 2005; | doi:10.1038/ni1262
The initiation of antigen-induced B cell antigen receptor signaling viewed in living cells by fluorescence resonance energy transferPavel Tolar, Hae Won Sohn
& Susan K Pierce
Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Susan K Pierce spierce@nih.gov Binding of antigen to the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) triggers signaling that ultimately leads to B cell activation. Using quantitative fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging, we provide evidence here that the BCR is a monomer on the surface of resting cells. Binding of multivalent antigen clustered the BCR, resulting in the simultaneous phosphorylation of and a conformational change in the BCR cytoplasmic domains from a closed to an open form. Notably, the open conformation required immunoreceptor tyrosine-activation motif and continuous Src family kinase activity but not binding of the kinase Syk. Thus, the initiation of BCR signaling is a very dynamic process accompanied by reversible conformational changes induced by Src family kinase activity.
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