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Src homology 2 (SH2) domains are modular protein structures that bind phosphotyrosine (pY)-containing polypeptides and regulate cellular functions through protein-protein interactions. Proteomics analysis showed that the SH2 domains of Src family kinases are themselves tyrosine phosphorylated in blood system cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and multiple myeloma. Using the Src family kinase Lyn SH2 domain as a model, we found that phosphorylation at the conserved SH2 domain residue Y(194) impacts the affinity and specificity of SH2 domain binding to pY-containing peptides and proteins. Analysis of the Lyn SH2 domain crystal structure supports a model wherein phosphorylation of Y(194) on the EF loop modulates the binding pocket that engages amino acid side chains at the pY+2/+3 position. These data indicate another level of regulation wherein SH2-mediated protein-protein interactions are modulated by SH2 kinases and phosphatases.

SummaryProtein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), along with protein-tyrosine kinases, play key roles in cellular signaling. All Class I PTPs contain an essential active site cysteinyl residue, which executes a nucleophilic attack on substrate phosphotyrosyl residues. The high reactivity of the catalytic cysteine also predisposes PTPs to oxidation by reactive oxygen species, such as H2O2. Reversible PTP oxidation is emerging as an important cellular regulatory mechanism and might contribute to diseases such as cancer. We exploited these unique features of PTP enzymology to develop proteomic methods, broadly applicable to cell and tissue samples, that enable the comprehensive identification and quantification of expressed classical PTPs (PTPome) and the oxidized subset of the PTPome (oxPTPome). We find that mouse and human cells and tissues, including cancer cells, display distinctive PTPomes and oxPTPomes, revealing additional levels of complexity in the regulation of protein-tyrosine phosphorylation in normal and malignant cells.