# Protein kinase GIα oxidation negatively regulates antibody production by B cells

## TL;DR

Oxidation of the PKGIα protein in B cells reduces antibody production by limiting its interaction with a key enzyme, AID.

## Contribution

This study reveals a novel redox regulation mechanism of antibody production via PKGIα oxidation in B cells.

## Key findings

- Oxidation-resistant C42S PKGIα knock-in mice showed enhanced B cell responses and antibody secretion.
- PKGIα oxidation reduces its ability to bind and phosphorylate AID, decreasing antibody diversity and production.
- The effect of PKGIα oxidation on AID was confirmed through multiple in vitro and in vivo assays.

## Abstract

Endogenous oxidants induce a C42-dependent interprotein disulfide between the subunits of protein kinase G (PKG) Iα in cardiovascular tissues to control blood pressure and ventricular relaxation during diastole. PKGIα is expressed in other cell types, including those of the immune system, where the redox state of this kinase is likely to regulate other important physiological processes. The role of PKGIα oxidation in antibody production by B cells, which produce oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide during differentiation, was examined by comparing the immune response of oxidation-resistant C42S PKGIα knock-in (KI) mice to their wild type (WT) littermates.

Immunization with the 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl acetyl (NP)-chicken gamma globulin with adjuvant increased NP + B cells (NP + B220+), germinal center B cells (NP + GL-7+CD95+), IgG1+ B cells (NP + IgG1+B220+), plasmablast (NP + CD138+B220+) and plasma cells (NP + CD138+B220-) in spleen, with these responses being significantly potentiated in KI mice. The C42S PKGIα KI mice also secreted significantly more NP + IgG1 antibody in plasma compared to WTs. Adoptive transfer of B cells into B cell-deficient mice confirmed that the observed enhancements were intrinsic to the donor population.

PKGIα physically interacted with activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), an essential enzyme for antibody diversity by deamination of cytosine to uracil in DNA, phosphorylating it at S38 to increase activity. Oxidation of PKGIα to interprotein disulfide form reduced its ability to bind and phosphorylate AID at S38, as demonstrated by in vitro and ex vivo co-immunoprecipitation, kinase assays, class-switch recombination assays, somatic hypermutation analyses, and western blotting in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In conclusion, PKGIα C42 oxidation in B cells decreases its interaction with and phosphorylation of AID, thereby reducing their antibody production.

PKGIα C42 oxidation attenuated antigen-specific IgG1 production and secretion by negatively regulating its binding and phospho-activation of AID S38 during immunization.Image 1