(Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2002;72:470-477.)
© 2002
by Society for Leukocyte Biology
Binding of function-blocking mAbs to mouse and human P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 peptides with and without tyrosine sulfation
Aravinda Thatte*,
Scott Ficarro
,
Karen R. Snapp
,
Martin K. Wild
,
Dietmar Vestweber
,
Donald F. Hunt
,|| and
Klaus F. Ley*,#
Departments of
* Biomedical Engineering,
Chemistry,
# Cardiovascular Research Center, and
|| Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville;
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; and
Institute of Cell Biology, ZMBE, University of Münster and Max-Planck-Institute of Physiological and Clinical Research, Germany
Correspondence: Klaus Ley, M.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cardiovascular Research Center, MR5 Building, Room 1013, University of Virginia, Box 801394, Charlottesville, VA 22908-1394. E-mail: klausley{at}virginia.edu
 |
ABSTRACT
|
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P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) mediates rolling
of leukocytes on P-selectin-expressing endothelial cells under shear
flow. Function-blocking monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against mouse and
human PSGL-1 recognize an anionic segment at the N-terminus of PSGL-1.
High affinity interaction of PSGL-1 with P-selectin requires sulfation
of tyrosines 46, 48, and 51 (human) or 54 and 56 (mouse). We tested
binding of two anti-human (KPL1 and PL1) and two anti-mouse (4RA10 and
2PH1) PSGL-1 mAbs to synthetic peptides of N-terminus of human and
mouse PSGL-1 and found binding to be independent of tyrosine sulfation.
In peptide-blocking experiments, sulfated and nonsulfated human and
mouse peptides competed with antibody binding to PSGL-1 expressed on
myeloid cells. Arylsulfatase treatment significantly reduced P-selectin
binding but had no effect on antibody binding. Our data show, in three
independent assay systems, that function-blocking antibodies to mouse
or human PSGL-1 do not require sulfation of N-terminal tyrosines for
binding.
Key Words: arylsulfatase selectin mass spectrometry leukocyte adhesion
 |
INTRODUCTION
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Leukocytes roll on selectins under shear flow before adhering
firmly to the endothelium and transmigrating to sites of inflammation.
Although various candidates have been identified as potential ligands
for selectins, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) is the only
ligand that has conclusively been shown to mediate rolling on
P-selectin in vivo [1
2
3
]. P-selectin on endothelium
binds PSGL-1 on leukocytes with high affinity and high off-rate
[4
] to mediate leukocyte rolling during inflammatory
cell recruitment. Human PSGL-1, a type I membrane glycoprotein, is a
homodimer of 240 kilodaltons with the characteristics of a sialomucin
containing numerous clustered S and T residues
[5
]. Nascent PSGL-1 has an N-terminal signal peptide
(118), followed by a propeptide (1941) that is cleaved by paired,
basic amino acid-converting enzymes such that the N-terminal
extracellular region of the mature protein begins at residue 42
[6
]. There are three clustered Y in a
consensus motif for sulfation within the anionic 19 amino acid
N-terminal segment that have been shown to be involved in binding to
P-selectin. Enzymatic removal of sulfate from Y
[7
] or metabolic inhibition of Y sulfation
[8
] and mutational analysis [8
,
9
] indicate that sulfation of at least one of these
tyrosines is required for high affinity binding of P-selectin to
PSGL-1. In addition, a specific core 2-based O-glycan at T
57 of the mature protein is required [10
]. Synthetic
peptides modeled after the N-terminus of human PSGL-1 lacking sulfated
Y or core 2-O-glycan do not detectably bind immobilized
P-selectin [11
]. In a cell-free, bead-rolling assay, the
requirement for tyrosine sulfation appears to be relaxed
[12
]. It is not known how many tyrosines are sulfated in
native PSGL-1, but replacement of one or two Y by
F in human PSGL-1 shows only subtle differences in the
kinetic and mechanical properties of interactions with P-selectin.
However, mutation of all three tyrosines severely impairs rolling
[13
].
Mouse PSGL-1 is similar in size to human PSGL-1 and has a signal
peptide, a propeptide, and a single C near the transmembrane
domain [14
]. Its anionic N-terminus has two rather than
three Y, and metabolic inhibition of sulfation abrogates
adhesion of myeloid cells to P-selectin-expressing Chinese hamster
ovary cells [15
]. Epitopes for known function blocking
monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to human PSGL-1, KPL1 [16
],
and PL1 [17
] and mouse PSGL-1, 4RA10
[18
], and 2PH1 [2
] span the anionic
N-terminal segment that is involved in binding to P-selectin.
The objective of the present study was to compare these mAbs for their
ability to recognize N-terminal PSGL-1 peptides that are differentially
sulfated at the tyrosines. Earlier studies had suggested that one of
the mAbs to human PSGL-1, KPL1, may require tyrosine sulfation for
recognition [16
]. We synthesized a series of peptides
based on mouse and human PSGL-1 amino acid sequences that differed in
the level of sulfation of the N-terminal tyrosine residues. To assess
the requirements for antibody binding, we used three different assays:
binding of mAbs to immobilized peptides with different levels of
sulfation; inhibition of mAbs binding to cells by these peptides; and
antibody binding after removing tyrosine sulfate from cells by
arylsulfatase. To address a potential influence of charge, we compared
the sulfated peptides with phosphorylated peptides.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS
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Materials
All tissue culture media were obtained from Gibco (Gaithersburg,
MD). EZ-Link® N-hydroxysuccinimide-biotin was obtained from Pierce
(Rockford, IL). 9-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected amino acids
and resins were obtained from Novabiochem (La Jolla, CA).
Fmoc-sulfotyrosine was obtained from Bachem (Torrance, CA). Sulfatase
from Aerobacter aerogens was obtained from Sigma Chemical
Co. (St. Louis, MO).
Cell lines
The human neutrophilic cell line HL-60 was maintained in RPMI
1640 medium containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) and 1%
penicillin/streptomycin. The murine hemopoietic progenitor cell line
32Dcl3 was maintained in Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium (DMEM)
containing 20% FCS and 1% penicillin/streptomycin along with 10%
conditioned medium from the murine myelomonocytic cell line WEHI-3B as
a source for interleukin-3. WEHI-3B cells were maintained in DMEM
containing 10% FCS and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. Culture conditions
were at 37°C in 5% CO2 with twice-a-week passage.
Antibodies
mAb KPL1, a mouse anti-human PSGL-1 antibody [immunoglobulin G
(IgG)1] was described previously [16
]. mAb
PL1 is also a mouse anti-human PSGL-1 (IgG1)
[19
] and was a kind gift of Dr. R. P. McEver
(University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City). mAb
4RA10 is a rat anti-mouse PSGL-1 antibody (IgG1) raised
using recombinant PSGL-1 and recognizes the functional 19 amino acid,
N-terminal PSGL-1 [18
]. mAb 2PH1 is also a rat
anti-mouse PSGL-1 antibody (IgG1) and was described
previously [2
]. The following antibodies were obtained
from BD PharMingen (San Diego, CA): 2PH1, isotype-control mouse
IgG1
(clone MOPC-31C), isotype-control rat
IgG1
(clone R3-34), goat anti-rat IgG fluorescein
isothiocyanate (FITC), rat anti-mouse IgG1 FITC, and
streptavidin FITC. Goat anti-mouse IgG horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and
goat anti-rat IgG HRP were obtained from Pierce.
P-selectin IgM chimeric protein
A plasmid encoding a fusion protein of murine P-selectin and
human IgM containing the lectin, epidermal growth factor domain, and
the first two consensus repeat domains of mouse P-selectin, fused to
the second heavy chain constant region of human IgM, was a kind gift of
Dr. J. B. Lowe (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor).
The plasmid DNA was transformed and propagated in Escherichia
coli MC1061/P3 and was used to transfect COS-7 cells as described
[20
]. Medium harvested from transfected cells 3 days
after the transfection was used for staining cells for flow cytometry
experiments.
Synthesis of peptides
Peptides were synthesized as described [21
]
except that the cleavage/deprotection time was reduced to 15 min in an
effort to minimize tyrosine desulfation. Peptides were purified by
reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and
characterized by negative ion mass spectrometry. The peptides were
dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide:water (1:1) and were assayed for
concentration using the bicinchoninic acid protein assay kit (Pierce).
Mass spectrometry
Peptide solutions were prepared at a concentration of 1
pmol/µL methanol:water:ammonium hydroxide (48:48:4) and analyzed by
direct infusion with a TSQ-7000 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer
(ThermoQuest, San Jose, CA) equipped with a homebuilt µESI source
[22
]. The mass spectrometer was operated in the
negative-ion mode with a spray voltage of -1.6 kV.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA)
All peptides were diluted in 50 mM carbonate-bicarbonate buffer,
pH 9.2, and coated at concentrations starting at 500 ng (for human) and
5 µg (for mouse) per well overnight at 4°C. The coated plates were
blocked with 2% bovine serum albumin (BSA) in phosphate-buffered
saline (PBS) for 2 h at room temperature and washed once with
0.05% PBS Tween 20 and incubated with the primary antibodies (KPL1,
1:500 diluted ascites fluid for the sulfated peptides and 5 µg/ml
KPL1 for the phosphated peptides; PL1, 5 µg/ml; 4RA10, 5 µg/ml;
2PH1, 5 µg/ml; isotype-control mouse IgG1, 5µg/ml;
isotype-control rat IgG1, 5 µg/ml) for 1 h at room
temperature. The plates were then washed three times and incubated with
the secondary antibody [goat anti-mouse HRP (Pierce) for KPL1, PL1,
and mouse isotype control; goat anti-rat HRP (Pierce) for 4RA10, 2PH1,
and rat isotype control] at a dilution of 1:4000 for 1 h at room
temperature and were then washed again three times and detected with
orthophenylinediamine tetrahydrochloride and hydrogen peroxide. Optical
density (OD) was measured at 450 nm using a Labsystems plate reader
(Thermo Labsystems, Helsinki, Finland).
Blocking of mAbs with peptides
Each anti-mouse and anti-human mAb (1 µg) was preincubated
with 10 µg of each of the corresponding peptide for one-half hour on
ice in PBS containing 1% BSA [fluorescein-activated cell sorter
(FACS) buffer]. For flow cytometry, HL-60 and 32Dcl3 cells were washed
twice at 100 g for 5 min with cold FACS buffer, were
resuspended in KPL1 or PL1 (10 µg/ml), mouse IgG1 isotype (10
µg/ml), mAb preincubated with peptide (for HL-60), 4RA10 or 2PH1 (10
µg/ml), rat IgG1 isotype (10 µg/ml), or mAb preincubated with
peptide (for 32Dcl3), and were incubated on ice for 30 min. Cells were
then washed twice with cold FACS buffer and incubated with the
secondary antibody (anti-mouse IgG FITC for KPL1 and PL1 and anti-rat
IgG FITC for 4RA10 and 2PH1, both at 5 µg/ml) for 30 min on ice.
After two washes, the samples were analyzed by flow cytometry in FACS
Calibur (BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ) using Cellquest
software.
Competition between mAbs for cell surface PSGL-1
KPL1 and PL1 were biotinylated using EZ-Link NHS-LC-Biotin.
Biotinylated KPL1 (5 µg/ml) and increasing concentrations of
unlabeled KPL1 or PL1 were coincubated with 1 x 106
HL-60 cells on ice for 30 min. After two washes with FACS buffer, cells
were incubated with streptavidin FITC at 5 µg/ml on ice for 30 min
and were washed twice with FACS buffer and analyzed by flow cytometry.
In a reverse experiment, 5 µg/ml biotinylated PL1 was coincubated
with unlabeled PL1 or KPL1. Similar experiments were conducted in
32Dcl3 cells using biotinylated 2PH1 and biotinylated 4RA10
(biotinylated using EZ-Link NHS-LC-Biotin).
Arylsulfatase digestion
HL-60 cells were grown in RPMI-1640 medium containing 10% FCS
and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. Cells (1 ml containing106)
were added per well in a 24-well tissue culture plate, and the cells
were treated with not any, 0.2 U, 1 U, or 2 U arylsulfatase overnight
at 37°C. The cells were then washed twice with FACS buffer, and for
each treatment, they were stained with KPL1 and P-selectin IgM chimera
separately. Goat anti-mouse IgG HRP was used to detect KPL1, and
biotinylated goat anti-human IgM (5 µg/ml) followed by streptavidin
FITC (5 µg/ml) was used to detect P-selectin IgM binding.
 |
RESULTS
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Differentially modified N-terminal PSGL-1 peptides
Three sets of PSGL-1 peptides based on the N-terminal
sequence of the human protein (Fig. 1 A
) and one set of peptides based on the N-terminal sequence of the
mouse protein (Fig. 1B)
were synthesized using Fmoc-protected amino
acids, purified by HPLC and analyzed for sequence identity by their
mass spectrometry (MS)/MS spectra. The shorter, 11-mer human peptides
with 0, 1, 2, or 3 sulfated tyrosines were designated as 0s, 1s (at
residue 46), 2s (at residues 46 and 48), and 3s (at residues 46, 48,
and 51), and the corresponding 17-mer human peptides were designated as
0S, 1S (at residue 46), 2S (at residues 46 and 48), and 3S (at residues
46, 48, and 51) for the sulfated and as 0P, 1P (at residue 46), 2P (at
residues 46 and 48), and 3P (at residues 46, 48, and 51) for the
phosphorylated tyrosines. The 17-mer mouse peptides were similarly
called 0S, 1S, and 2S. Two scrambled peptited, SP1 and SP2, were also
prepared. Nonsulfated peptides were >90% pure as determined by MS.
Preparations of sulfated peptides contained significant amounts of
desulfated peptides. All of the phosphorylated peptides were >95%
pure as determined by MS. A representative MS spectrum for the mouse
peptide 2S shows the presence of 1S and 0S species, although they are
less abundant than the 2S species (Fig. 2
).

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Figure 1. Amino acid sequences of nonsulfated and differentially sulfated human
and mouse PSGL-1 peptides. Human and mouse peptides were synthesized
using Fmoc- protected amino acids based on the N-terminal amino acid
sequences of human and mouse PSGL-1, respectively. (A) Human and (B)
mouse synthetic PSGL-1 N-terminal peptides with differential tyrosine
sulfations at the indicated residues are shown. SP1 and SP2 represent
sequences of scrambled peptides that were used as negative controls.
Human PSGL-1 peptides (17-mers) were also synthesized with tyrosine
phosphates at the indicated residues.
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Figure 2. A representative MS spectrum for synthetic sulfated peptides.
HPLC-purified, differentially sulfated peptides were characterized by
negative ion mass spectroscopy. An MS spectrum for mouse 2S peptide
shows relative abundance as a function of mass-to-charge ratio (m/z)
containing the predominant 2S peak (1133.3) with contributions from 1S
(1092.8) and 0S (1052.9) peptides. The 2S species is represented by a
combination of the doubly deprotonated [M-2H]2-2S and
the triply deprotonated [M-3H]3-2S forms, which make up
for 60% of the mixture, and the other 40% comprise the desulfated
species.
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Antibody binding to plate-bound peptides
In an ELISA, KPL1 and PL1 showed dose-dependent binding to the
17-mer human peptides 0S, 1S, 2S, and 3S (Fig. 3A
and B). All peptides, irrespective of the degree of
tyrosine sulfation, showed antibody binding, which increased with
increasing peptide concentration. The 11-mer human peptides 0s, 1s, 2s,
and 3s bound neither PL1 nor KPL1. Neither the 11-mer nor the 17-mer
peptides bound the isotype-matched control antibody (mouse
IgG1). The differentially phosphorylated 17-mer human
peptides showed dose-dependent antibody binding, and the specificity of
binding was confirmed using scrambled peptides SP1 and SP2, neither of
which bound the antibodies (data not shown; and Fig. 3A
and 3B
). The
mouse peptides 0S, 1S, and 2S showed dose-dependent binding to 4RA10
and 2PH1 (Fig. 3C and 3D)
, and the binding was specific as shown by
lack of antibody binding to scrambled peptides SP1 or SP2 (Fig. 3C and 3D)
. Also, the mouse peptides did not bind the isotype-matched
control antibody (rat IgG1).

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Figure 3. mAbs bind N-terminal PSGL-1 peptides in an ELISA, irrespective of the
degree of tyrosine sulfation. Human or mouse peptides were coated on an
ELISA plate in duplicate wells and incubated with anti-human mAb, KPL1
or PL1, or anti-mouse mAb, 4RA10 or 2PH1, respectively. HRP-conjugated,
secondary antibodies were used to detect primary antibody binding.
Anti-human PSGL-1 mAb KPL1 (A) and PL1 (B) show dose-dependent binding
to the 17-mer peptides (0S, 1S, 2S, or 3S) but not to scrambled control
peptides SP1 or SP2 or 11-mer peptides with or without sulfation (0s,
1s, 2s, or 3s). Anti-mouse PSGL-1 mAb 4RA10 (C) and 2PH1 (D) show
dose-dependent binding to 0S, 1S, or 2S mouse peptides. The antibodies
do not bind scrambled peptides SP1 or SP2. Isotype-control antibodies,
mouse IgG1 (for anti-human mAb KPL1 and PL1) and rat
IgG1 (for anti-mouse mAb 4RA10 and 2PH1), were tested on
human and mouse peptides, respectively, but did not show any binding.
Data are represented as mean + SD for
n = 3.
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Blocking of PSGL-1 mAbs binding by peptides
Preincubating anti-PSGL-1 mAbs with peptides decreased subsequent
binding of the antibodies to native PSGL-1 on cells. KPL1 staining on
HL-60 cells was significantly reduced when the antibody was
preincubated with 1S, 2S, and 3S peptides (Fig. 4A
). The 0S peptide could also displace KPL1 binding though not as
well as the other three. The 11-mer human peptides 0s, 1s, 2s, and 3s
did not inhibit KPL1 binding to HL-60 cells (Fig. 4B)
. Although PL1 did
not detectably bind 11-mer peptides by ELISA, PL1 binding to HL-60
cells was inhibited by the 17-mers (Fig. 4C)
and the 11-mers (Fig. 4D) .
With both sets of peptides, the sulfated peptides inhibited better than
the nonsulfated peptides. To test if the differences in the level of
inhibition seen with the sulfated peptides on KPL1 binding was due to
the charge on the sulfate moieties, we used similar charge-bearing,
tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides for inhibition of KPL1 binding. As
shown in Figure 5
, even at concentrations spanning two logs (A, 0.1 µg/µg KPL1;
B, 1 µg/µg KPL1; C, 10 µg/µg KPL1), there were no significant
differences in binding inhibition observed with the differentially
phosphorylated peptides. The mouse peptides 0S, 1S, and 2S completely
inhibited 2PH1 staining on 32Dcl3 cells irrespective of the degree of
tyrosine sulfation (Fig. 6A
). 4RA10 staining on 32Dcl3 cells was also blocked by all three
peptides, although not as completely as in the case of 2PH1 (Fig. 6B)
.

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Figure 4. Differentially sulfated peptides compete for antibody binding to native
human PSGL-1. Each antibody (1 µg) was preincubated with 10 µg each
peptide for 30 min at 4°C before being added to 1 x
106 HL-60 cells. Antibody binding to HL-60 cells was
detected using a FITC-labeled secondary antibody and analyzed by flow
cytometry. KPL1 binding to HL-60 cells is decreased in the presence of
17-mer peptides 0S, 1S, 2S, or 3S (A) but not by the 11-mer peptides
0s, 1s, 2s, or 3s (B). PL1 binding to HL-60 cells is decreased by
11-mer (0s, 1s, 2s, or 3s) and 17-mer peptides (0S, 1S, 2S, or 3S; D
and C, respectively). IgG1, Mouse isotype-control antibody
binding. Data are representative of four independent experiments.
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Figure 5. Differentially phosphorylated peptides compete for KPL1 binding to
HL-60 cells. KPL1 (1 µg) was preincubated with varying concentrations
of differentially phosphorylated peptides 0P, 1P, 2P, or 3P at 4°C
for 30 min before being added to 1 x 106 HL-60 cells.
Antibody binding to HL-60 cells in the presence and absence of peptides
was detected using a FITC-labeled secondary antibody and was analyzed
by flow cytometry. KPL1 binding to HL-60 cells can be reduced by 0P,
1P, 2P, or 3P peptide at concentrations of 0.1 µg (A), 1 µg (B),
and 10 µg (C) per µg KPL1 in a dose-dependent manner. The scrambled
peptides SP1 and SP2 do not affect KPL1 binding at any concentration.
IgG1, Mouse isotype-control antibody binding. Result shown
is representative of three experiments conducted.
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Figure 6. Peptides compete for antibody binding to native, murine PSGL-1. 2PH1 or
4RA10 (1 µg) was preincubated with 10 µg each 0S, 1S, and 2S for 30
min at 4°C before being incubated with 1 x 106
32Dcl3 cells. Antibody binding to 32Dcl3 cells in the presence and
absence of peptides was detected using a FITC-labeled secondary
antibody and was analyzed by flow cytometry. In the presence of 0S, 1S,
or 2S mouse peptides 2PH1 (A) and 4RA10 (B), binding to native PSGL-1
on 32Dcl3 cells is reduced. Control, Rat IgG1
isotype-control antibody binding. Data shown are representative of two
independent experiments.
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KPL1 competes for PL1 binding on HL-60 cells
When a fixed concentration of biotinylated PL1 and increasing
concentrations of unlabeled KPL1 or PL1 were coincubated with HL-60
cells, PL1 staining was reduced as a function of KPL1 or PL1
concentration (Fig. 7A
). However, KPL1 staining on HL-60 cells, which was reduced as a
function of unlabeled KPL1, could not be blocked by even tenfold higher
concentrations of PL1 (Fig. 7B)
. This suggests that KPL1 might have a
higher affinity than PL1 for native PSGL-1 on HL-60 cells. In addition,
4RA10 and 2PH1 did not compete for PSGL-1 on 32Dcl3 cells. Although
staining of biotinylated 4RA10 and biotinylated 2PH1 was reduced as a
function of increasing concentrations of unlabeled 4RA10 and unlabeled
2PH1, respectively (Fig. 7C
and 7D)
, there was no reduction in
staining of one while coincubated with increasing concentrations of the
other, suggesting that their epitopes do not overlap (Fig. 7C
and 7D) .
Recognition of native human PSGL-1 by KPL-1 is independent of
tyrosine sulfation
HL-60 cells were treated with the enzyme arylsulfatase, which
cleaves sulfate from tyrosine. KPL1 staining of native PSGL-1 on HL-60
cells was not significantly altered after arylsulfatase treatment
(Fig. 8
). As a positive control, P-selectin IgM staining of
arylsulfatase-treated cells decreased as a function of the
concentration of the enzyme used for removing sulfate. It is well known
that P-selectin binding to PSGL-1 requires sulfation of at least one of
the three N-terminal tyrosines [8
]. Reduction in
P-selectin IgM staining indicates successful removal of sulfates from
PSGL-1, but this did not affect KPL1 staining. Therefore, KPL1
recognition of PSGL-1 does not require tyrosine sulfation.

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Figure 8. KPL1 binding does not require tyrosine sulfation. HL-60 cells were
treated overnight with increasing concentrations of arylsulfatase (0.2
U, 1 U, or 2U/106 cells/ml) to remove sulfate groups from
tyrosine residues. Untreated and arylsulfatase-treated HL-60 cells were
stained with KPL1 and P-selectin IgM and analyzed by flow cytometry.
Binding of P-selectin IgM (A, IgM: anti-human IgM binding) and KPL1 (B,
IgG1: mouse IgG1 isotype-control binding) to
HL-60 cells in the absence and presence of treatment with increasing
concentrations (0.2 U, red; 1 U, green; and 2 U, brown) of
arylsulfatase is shown. Data are representative of two independent
experiments.
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 |
DISCUSSION
|
|---|
The present study analyzes the binding specificities of two mAbs
to human PSGL-1 and two mAbs to mouse PSGL-1 in relation to the degree
of tyrosine sulfation at the N-terminus. PSGL-1-mediated, high affinity
interaction with P-selectin can be inhibited by each of these mAbs.
mAbs KPL1 [16
] and PL1 [19
] recognize
epitopes in the functionally important N-terminus of human PSGL-1, and
mAbs 2PH1 [2
] and 4RA10 [18
] recognize
functional epitopes in the N-terminus of mouse PSGL-1.
All mAbs used in this study block binding of PSGL-1 to P-selectin,
suggesting that the antibody epitopes span the P-selectin-binding site
[23
]. PL1, which was raised against purified PSGL-1 from
human neutrophils [19
], is known to recognize peptides
spanning residues 4962 of mature PSGL-1 including the LPETE motif
[17
]. Conversely, KPL1 was raised against recombinant
PSGL-1 and interacts with the tyrosine sulfation consensus motif of
PSGL-1 comprising residues YEYLDYD [4652] at the
N-terminus [16
]. In the present study, PL1 and KPL1
bound immobilized, 17-mer, N-terminal human PSGL-1 peptides
irrespective of the degree of tyrosine sulfation. This suggests that
recognition of PSGL-1 by either of them is sulfation-independent. This
is further supported by equal binding of peptides with three, two, one,
or no tyrosine phosphates. The shorter 11-mers did not show any
reactivity above background with PL1 or KPL1. Absence of PL1 binding to
the 11-mers agrees with earlier reports on PL1 binding to fusion
proteins containing fragments of the extracellular domain of PSGL-1,
which suggested that PL1 optimally binds to a 14-residue epitope that
spans amino acids 4962, although the antibody can recognize shorter,
8-residue peptides with the LPETE motif not contained in the 11-mer
[17
]. Absence of reactivity of KPL1 to the 11-mer
containing the YEYLDYD sequence suggests that the KPL1 epitope extends
beyond that sequence.
To address the possibility that the adsorption of 11-mer peptides to
the plastic ELISA plate may prevent availability of the KPL1 epitope,
we conducted a soluble-phase flow cytometry assay. The 11-mer peptides
were able to compete for PL1 but not KPL1 binding to HL-60 cells. The
difference in the behavior of 11-mer peptides with PL1 between the
solid phase and the fluid phase assays might be a result of the
reported fact that amino acid residues, which appear to play no role
when tested by ELISA, influence the kinetics of binding under dynamic
conditions by stabilizing the conformation [24
]; thus,
the peptides would be able to assume the necessary secondary structures
for antibody binding that were not permitted in the solid phase. KPL1
binding to HL-60 cells was blocked by 17-mers but not 11-mers. This
assay suggests that the KPL1 epitope extends beyond the aspartic acid
residue at position 52 of mature PSGL-1.
All the 17-mers inhibit KPL1 and PL1 binding to HL-60 cells. It is
possible that initial binding of the 17-mer peptides to either mAb
causes a change in the antibody conformation, thereby inhibiting
antibody binding to PSGL-1 on HL-60 cells. Similar conformational
changes have been reported for class II major histocompatibility
complex proteins after peptide binding [25
]. For KPL1,
unlike for PL1, the triply sulfated peptide seems to inhibit better
than doubly, singly, or the nonsulfated peptide. Interestingly,
phosphorylated peptides did not show this behavior but blocked KPL1
binding equally well, irrespective of phosphorylation. The scrambled
peptides had no effect at any concentration. Kinetic measurements of
antibody binding to peptides of the coat protein of tobacco mosaic
virus have shown that even conservative changes within the epitopes
resulted in a significantly higher dissociation rate of the antibodies
tested [24
]. Based on this, we speculate that sulfated
peptides may dissociate more slowly or associate faster with KPL1. As a
result, the triply sulfated peptide might perturb KPL1 binding to HL-60
cells more efficiently. Such a kinetic effect of tyrosine sulfation
would not be expected in an antibody binding assay to immobilized
peptide, which represents more a test of equilibrium affinity.
Differentially phosphorylated peptides inhibit KPL1 binding to the same
degree as opposed to differentially sulfated peptides, suggesting that
the size of the substituted group on tyrosine but not its charge
determines the extent to which antibody binding is perturbed. Although
there are no reports in the literature that present evidence for
kinetic differences in binding of antibodies to differentially sulfated
or phosphorylated proteins or peptides, it has been shown that
sulfation of synthetic peptides within the
chain of human fibrin
increases the competition for binding of native human fibrin to
thrombin [26
].
KPL1 failed to recognize a PSGL-1 mutant in which all three tyrosines
were replaced by phenylalanines [16
]. Based on this
finding, it was concluded that KPL1 required sulfated tyrosine residues
for recognition. However, our data show that nonsulfated tyrosine
residues at positions 46, 48, and 52 are sufficient for recognition,
suggesting that the substitution of F for Y
rather than the absence of sulfate abolished KPL1 binding to the mutant
PSGL-1.
To investigate whether KPL1 binding to native cellular PSGL-1 requires
sulfation, we treated HL-60 cells with a bacterial arylsulfatase, which
cleaves sulfates from tyrosine residues within proteins but does not
digest sulfated carbohydrates [7
]. We compared KPL1
binding with P-selectin IgM fusion protein binding. P-selectin IgM
fusion protein is known to require tyrosine sulfation for binding to
PSGL-1 [20
]. Our data show that removal of sulfate from
tyrosines significantly decreases P-selectin-IgM binding but not KPL1
binding. In a previous study, arylsulfatase treatment of whole cell
lysates was shown to abrogate KPL1 binding to PSGL-1 in a Western blot
[16
]. However, it was not determined whether binding of
P-selectin (which requires sulfation of tyrosines at the N-terminus of
PSGL-1) or PL1 (which recognizes an overlapping N-terminal epitope) was
affected by the treatment. Binding of PL2 (another PSGL-1 mAb) was
unchanged after arylsulfatase treatment, but the PL2 epitope maps far
away from the N-terminus [17
]. It is therefore possible
that the sulfatase treatment or a protease contamination affected the
KPL1 epitope.
As KPL1 and PL1 block PSGL-1 function by binding to overlapping
epitopes within the anionic N-terminus, we compared their binding to
PSGL-1 for possible affinity differences. We tested the ability of one
antibody to displace binding of the other, using HL-60 promyelocytes.
KPL1 cross-competes with PL1 and displaces PL1 binding in a
dose-dependent manner. PL1, on the other hand, does not inhibit KPL1
binding. These findings suggest that the epitopes for KPL1 and PL1 are
at least partially overlapping, and KPL1 may have a higher affinity for
PSGL-1 than PL-1. However, alternative explanations exist; for example,
KPL1 may change PSGL-1 conformation in such a way that PL1 can no
longer bind without physically overlapping the PL-1 epitope.
Murine PSGL-1 is structurally similar to human PSGL-1 and has an
anionic N-terminal sequence with two rather than three tyrosines
[5
]. mAb 2PH1 was raised against an N-terminal mouse
PSGL-1 peptide [2
], while mAb 4RA10 was raised using
recombinant PSGL-1 [18
], and both block PSGL-1 function
in the mouse [2
, 18
]. We find that 2PH1 and
4RA10 bind to the N-terminal 17 amino acids of murine PSGL-1,
independent of tyrosine sulfation. Peptides with and without sulfated
tyrosines are also able to compete for antibody binding to native
PSGL-1 on 32Dcl3 cells. Although both mAbs recognize the N-terminus of
murine PSGL-1 and both block PSGL-1 function, they seem to bind to
nonoverlapping epitopes because they are unable to compete for each
other on 32Dcl3 cells.
Taken together, our studies show that function-blocking antibodies to
human or mouse PSGL-1 recognize N-terminal peptides independent of
tyrosine sulfation. We conclude that, in contrast to P-selectin
binding, mAb binding to human and mouse PSGL-1 does not require
tyrosine sulfation.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
|
|---|
We thank Dr. R. P. McEver for the gift of PL1 and Dr. J. B. Lowe for the gift of the plasmid encoding P-selectin IgM fusion
protein.
Received February 1, 2002;
revised March 18, 2002;
accepted April 11, 2002.
 |
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