Regulation of the Lck SH2 domain by tyrosine phosphorylation

Src homology 2 (SH2) domains bind to phosphotyrosine (Tyr(P)) residues in specific sequence contexts in other proteins and thereby mediate tyrosine phosphorylationdependent protein-protein interactions. The SH2 domain of the Src family kinase Lck is phosphorylated at tyrosine 192 in T cells upon T cell antigen receptor triggering. We have studied the consequences of this phosphorylation on the properties of the SH2 domain and on the function of Lck in T cell activation. We report that phosphorylation at Tyr(192) reduced the capacity of the isolated SH2 domain to bind a high affinity peptide ligand and Tyr(P)-containing cellular proteins. This effect was mimicked by mutation of Tyr(192) to an acidic residue. In intact T cells, where Lck participates in T cell antigen receptor signal transduction in an SH2 domain dependent manner, phosphorylation of Tyr(192) correlated with reduced downstream signaling. Our results indicate that tyrosine phosphorylation of the SH2 domain of Lck terminates its high affinity binding to ligands, thereby negatively regulating its participation in T cell antigen receptor signaling. This represents a novel mechanism for the regulation of the function of SH2 domains.