Tyrosine Phosphorylation of Carcinoembryonic Antigen-related Cell Adhesion Molecule 20 and Its Functional Role

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) 20 is an immunoglobulin-superfamily transmembrane protein that contains an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) in its cytoplasmic region. However, the mechanism for tyrosine phosphorylation of, or the physiological function of, this protein remains largely unknown. Here we have shown that CEACAM20 is indeed tyrosine-phosphorylated by either treatment with pervanadate or forced expression of c-Src. In addition, Tyr522, Tyr559 or Tyr570, the latter two of which are within the ITAM, is likely important for such tyrosine phosphorylation. Forced expression of Myc-tagged wild-type CEACAM20 promoted the phagocytic activity of cultured cells for microbeads coupled with anti-Myc antibodies. By contrast, such phagocytic activity was markedly reduced when a mutant form of CEACAM20, in which Tyr559 and Tyr570 were substituted with phenylalanine, was expressed. Furthermore, the CEACAM20-mediated phagocytic activity was markedly prevented by the treatment with an inhibitor for either Src family kinases (SFKs), Syk, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) or phospholipase C-γ (PLCγ). Inhibition of actin polymerization by Cytochalasin D significantly inhibited the CEACAM20-mediated phagocytosis. These results thus suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of CEACAM20 likely promotes phagocytic activity of the cells. The CEACAM20-mediated phagocytic activity requires the activation of SFKs, Syk, PI3K or PLCγ.