The tyrosine kinase connection: how GPI-anchored proteins activate T cells

Abstract

How can crosslinking of cell-surface glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins activate T cells when the proteins do not reach the cytosol? Recent results show that glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins associate with tyrosine kinases of the src family. Kinase activity is stimulated when glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins are crosslinked. How the proteins are linked across the membrane, however, remains an intriguing mystery.