Over-expression of integrin beta3 can partially overcome the defect of integrin beta3 signaling in transglutaminase 2

Beáta Tóth1, Zsolt Sarang, György Vereb

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Apoptosis and Genomics Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt. 98, Debrecen H-4012, Hungary.

Immunology Letters
|August 1, 2009
PubMed

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is a protein crosslinking enzyme with many additional biological functions. We have previously shown that in TG2(-/-) mice the in vivo clearance of apoptotic cells is defective leading to autoimmunity. TG2 contributes to the formation of phagocytic portals by binding to both integrin beta(3), a known phagocytic receptor, and its bridging molecule, MFG-E8. In TG2 null macrophages integrin beta(3) cannot accumulate around the apoptotic cells and its signaling is impaired. In the present study we describe a subline of TG2 null mice, in which a compensatory increase in integrin beta(3) expression, which resulted alone in a high receptor concentration around the apoptotic cells without the requirement for accumulation, partially corrected the defect in integrin beta(3) signaling. Our data provide a proof for the concept that the function of TG2 is to stabilize accumulated integrin beta(3) concentration in the phagocytic cup.

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