Ligand Stimulation Reduces Platelet-derived Growth Factor β-Receptor Susceptibility to Tyrosine Dephosphorylation

Abstract

Ligand binding to the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) β-receptor leads to increased receptor tyrosine phosphorylation as a consequence of dimerization-induced activation of the intrinsic receptor tyrosine kinase activity. In this study we asked whether ligand-stimulated PDGF β-receptor tyrosine phosphorylation, to some extent, also involved reduced susceptibility to tyrosine dephosphorylation. To investigate this possibility we compared the sensitivity of ligand-stimulated and non-stimulated forms of tyrosine-phosphorylated PDGF β-receptors to dephosphorylation using various preparations containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase activity. Ligand-stimulated or unstimulated tyrosine-phosphorylate receptors were obtained after incubation of cells with pervanadate only or pervanadate, together with PDGF-BB, respectively. Dephosphorylation of receptors immobilized on wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose, as well as of receptors in intact cell membranes, was investigated under conditions when rephosphorylation did not occur. As compared with unstimulated receptors the ligand-stimulated PDGF β-receptors showed about 10-fold reduced sensitivity to dephosphorylation by cell membranes, a recombinant form of the catalytic domain of density-enhanced phosphatase-1, or recombinant protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B. We conclude that ligand-stimulated forms of the PDGF β-receptor display a reduced susceptibility to dephosphorylation. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism whereby ligand stimulation of PDGF β-receptor, and possibly other tyrosine kinase receptors, leads to a net increase in receptor tyrosine phosphorylation.