bca: an activation-related B-cell gene

We have identified a novel activation related B-cell gene (bca) through differential hybridization screening of a murine B cell cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence predicted a protein of 482 amino acids with strong sequence similarity to the SH2 and SH3 domains present within the non-catalytic regions of several protein tyrosine kinases. Northern analysis of RNA from several murine B-cell lines revealed a transcript of 1.8 kb, which was not detected in T-cell and non-lymphoid cell lines. bca was transcribed at low levels in resting spleen cells from a variety of normal mouse strains and was strongly expressed in kidney RNA. bca expression was markedly increased in RNA prepared from mitogen activated B cells, and in freshly isolated spleen and lymph node cells of MRL/lpr and NZB autoimmune strains. The unique sequence of bca, which bears no obvious similarity to any specific class of proteins containing SH2 and SH3 domains, suggests that this gene encodes a novel protein potentially involved in B-cell signal transduction.