Bivalent ligands with rigid double-stranded DNA spacers reveal structural constraints on signaling by Fc epsilon RI

Degranulation of mast cells and basophils during the allergic response is initiated by Ag-induced cross-linking of cell surface IgE-Fc epsilon RI receptor complexes. To investigate how separation distances between cross-linked receptors affect the competency of signal transduction, we synthesized and characterized bivalent dinitrophenyl (DNP)-modified dsDNA oligomers with rigid spacing lengths of approximately 40-100 A. All of these bivalent ligands effectively bind and cross-link anti-DNP IgE with similar affinities in the nanomolar range. The 13-mer (dsDNA length of 44 A), 15-mer (51 A), and flexible 30-mer ligands stimulate similar amounts of cellular degranulation, about one-third of that with multivalent Ag, whereas the 20-mer (68 A) ligand is less effective and the rigid 30-mer (102 A) ligand is ineffective. Surprisingly, all stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation of Fc epsilon RI beta, Syk, and linker for activation of T cells to similar extents as multivalent Ag at optimal ligand concentrations. The magnitudes of Ca(2+) responses stimulated by these bivalent DNP-dsDNA ligands are small, implicating activation of Ca(2+) mobilization by stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation as a limiting process. The results indicate that structural constraints on cross-linked IgE-Fc epsilon RI complexes imposed by these rigid DNP-dsDNA ligands prevent robust activation of signaling immediately downstream of early tyrosine phosphorylation events. To account for these results, we propose that activation of a key downstream target is limited by the spacing between cross-linked, phosphorylated receptors and their associated components.