Tyrosine phosphorylation of a M(r) 38,000 A/B-type hnRNP protein selectively modulates its RNA binding.

The M(r) 38,000 RNA-binding protein (P38) is the major component of translationally repressed messenger ribonucleoproteins in cryptobiotic gastrulae of the brine shrimp Artemia. Partial elucidation of the amino acid sequence of P38 reveals that it is homologous to A/B-type hnRNP proteins. This was confirmed by immunodetection with antibodies specific for A/B-type hnRNP proteins from Drosophila melanogaster. P38 can be phosphorylated in vitro by a src-related protein tyrosine kinase on multiple tyrosine residues located predominantly in the glycine-rich domain. Tyrosine phosphorylated P38 can be efficiently dephosphorylated by a specific protein tyrosine phosphatase (1B-like) and by protein phosphatase 2A activated by the phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator. Tyrosine phosphorylation of P38 slightly influences its subsequent phosphorylation by casein kinase II. The latter phosphorylation site is located in the glycine-rich domain of P38. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis resolves P38 into multiple isoforms which shift to more acidic pI values after phosphorylation by protein tyrosine kinase or casein kinase II. From nitrocellulose filter binding and UV cross-linking analysis, evidence was obtained that tyrosine phosphorylation of P38 impairs its binding to poly(A) but not to poly(U). This demonstrates the involvement of tyrosine residues in polynucleotide-specific RNA binding that can be regulated by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.