The participation of adenylate cyclase in lymphocyte capping

In this study, we have observed that cells increase their intracellular cAMP to relatively high levels during receptor capping induced by either ligand-dependent (anti-Thy-1 antibody) or ligand-independent (colchicine) treatment. In addition, we have found that under capping conditions, membrane-bound adenylate cyclase is induced to co-cap with independent membrane molecules such as Thy-1 antigens. These findings suggest that the binding of anti-Thy-1 to its receptors or treatment with colchicine induces the molecular reorganization of membrane-bound adenylate cyclase which may be responsible for activating the contractile machinery required for the collection of surface receptors into a cap structure.