Syk-dependent and -independent signaling cascades in B cells elicited by osmotic and oxidative stress.

It was found that Syk protein-tyrosine kinase is rapidly activated in B cells after H2O2 treatment (oxidative stress) or increased extracellular NaCl concentration (osmotic stress) as well as in response to B cell receptor activation. In this study we examined the involvement of Syk in responses elicited by these types of extracellular stress, particularly Ca2+ responses and c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, using a chicken B cell line, DT40, as well as the DT40-derived mutant DT40/Syk(-), which does not express Syk. Osmotic stress evokes increases in [Ca2+]i by stimulating an extracellular Ca2+ influx in both DT40 and DT40/Syk(-) cells. In comparison, oxidative stress elicits an increase in [Ca2+]i by stimulating both an extracellular Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ release from internal stores in DT40 cells, but this Ca2+ response is partially abolished in DT40/Syk(-) cells, indicating that the oxidative stress-induced Ca2+ response is at least partly dependent on Syk. Interestingly, the depletion of Ca2+ results in a significantly decreased level of Syk activation in DT40 cells stimulated by oxidative but not osmotic stress. Furthermore, JNK is activated to different extents by these two types of stress. The extent of JNK activation in DT40/Syk(-) cells in response to osmotic stress is comparable to that observed in DT40 cells. Intriguingly, oxidative stress-induced JNK activation is significantly compromised in DT40/Syk(-) cells. Collectively, these results indicate that both the Ca2+ response and JNK activity induced by oxidative stress are partly dependent on Syk, whereas those induced by osmotic stress are independent of Syk.