Regulated expression of the receptor-like tyrosine phosphatase CD148 on hemopoietic cells

CD148 is a receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase expressed on a wide variety of cell types. Through the use flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy on tissue sections, we examined the expression of CD148 on multiple murine hemopoietic cell lineages. We found that CD148 is moderately expressed during all stages of B cell development in the bone marrow, as well as peripheral mature B cells. In contrast, CD148 expression on thymocytes and mature T cells is substantially lower. However, stimulation of peripheral T cells through the TCR leads to an increase of CD148 expression. This up-regulation on T cells can be partially inhibited by reagents that block the activity of src family kinases, calcineurin, MEK, or PI3K. Interestingly, CD148 levels are elevated on freshly isolated T cells from MRL lpr/lpr and CTLA-4-deficient mice, two murine models of autoimmunity. Together, these expression data along with previous biochemical data suggest that CD148 may play an important regulatory role to control an immune response.