A novel macrophage actin-associated protein (MAYP) is tyrosine-phosphorylated following colony stimulating factor-1 stimulation

An approximately 37-kDa cytoplasmic protein is rapidly tyrosine-phosphorylated in the response of mouse BAC1.2F5 macrophages to colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1). pp37 was purified from the cytosolic fraction by anti-Tyr(P) affinity chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, and C4 reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography. The sequences of four peptides derived from the purified protein matched portions of an expressed sequence tag (EST) sequence, and the EST clone was used to obtain cDNA clones encoding the pp37 protein, which shares sequence similarity with the PST PIP (proline, serine, threonine phosphatase interacting protein)/CDC15 family of protein-tyrosine phosphatase substrates. pp37 is predicted to contain a Fes/CIP4 homology (FCH) domain and an actin-binding domain-like sequence. It is expressed selectively in macrophages, macrophage cell lines, and at low levels in macrophage-containing tissues. pp37 is predominantly found in the cytosol, where it is associated with actin. However, approximately 4% resides in the membrane fraction, and the trace amount in the cytoskeletal fraction is increased by CSF-1 stimulation. Termed macrophage actin-associated tyrosine-phosphorylated protein (MAYP), p37 is the major F-actin-associated protein that is tyrosine-phosphorylated in macrophages and is likely to play a role in regulating the CSF-1-induced reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton.