The p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Interacts with Multiple MAGE Proteins

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 277; no. 51; pp. 49101 - 49104
• Main Authors: Tcherpakov, Marianna, Bronfman, Francisca C., Conticello, Silvestro G., Vaskovsky, Anna, Levy, Zehava, Niinobe, Michio, Yoshikawa, Kazuaki, Arenas, Ernest, Fainzilber, Mike
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 20.12.2002; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: Animals; Blotting, Western; Cloning, Molecular; COS Cells; Cytoplasm - metabolism; DNA, Complementary - metabolism; Gene Library; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mice; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - chemistry; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - metabolism; Neoplasm Proteins; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Nuclear Proteins - metabolism; PC12 Cells; Phylogeny; Plasmids - metabolism; Precipitin Tests; Protein Binding; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Rats; Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor; Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor - chemistry; Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Temperature; Time Factors; Tissue Distribution; Transfection
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.C200533200

The p75 neurotrophin receptor has been implicated in diverse aspects of neurotrophin signaling, but the mechanisms by which its effects are mediated are not well understood. Here we identify two MAGE proteins, necdin and MAGE-H1, as interactors for the intracellular domain of p75 and show that the interaction is enhanced by ligand stimulation. PC12 cells transfected with necdin or MAGE-H1 exhibit accelerated differentiation in response to nerve growth factor. Expression of these two MAGE proteins is predominantly cytoplasmic in PC12 cells, and necdin was found to be capable of homodimerization, suggesting that it may act as a cytoplasmic adaptor to recruit a signaling complex to p75. These findings indicate that diverse MAGE family members can interact with the p75 receptor and highlight type II MAGE proteins as a potential family of interactors for signaling proteins containing type II death domains.