CD43 – One molecule, many tales to recount

Abstract

Immune cells functions are regulated through the orchestrated intervention of immune receptors that recognize non-self peptides or pathogen associated molecular patterns and of molecules that modulate the signals these receptors generate. These molecules, known as accessory or co-receptor molecules, sense the environment, setting the threshold for cell activation, as well as instructing the cells to ensure self-tolerance and homeostasis. CD43 is an abundant cell surface protein, expressed on nearly all lineages of hematopoietic cells. Multiple, and sometimes opposite functions, have been attributed to CD43: adhesion and anti-adhesion, locomotion, cellular activation, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Here we will summarize recent developments in our understanding of the role this molecule plays in different cell types. In particular, we will illustrate the role of CD43 as a T cell accessory molecule, capable of generating intracellular signals, independently of or in coordination with the TCR, actively modulating T cell response. In addition, we review new functions for this molecule, in non-immune cells.

Aberrant Glycosylation as Biomarker for Cancer: Focus on CD43

“…Further, CD43 is involved in the regulation of cell activation, differentiation, adhesion, and migration and may play a role in immune response by modulating cell growth, survival, and apoptosis [113, 114, 125]. However, some functions attributed to CD43 seem to be contradictory.…”

CD43 is relocated from the basal to the apical plasma membrane of rat uterine epithelial cells by progesterone

“…Due to its ability to recruit carbohydrates to its extracellular domain, a differing degree of glycosylation has implicated this molecule in anti-adhesive functions as well as adhesive (Pedraza-Alva and Rosenstein 2007;Matsumoto et al 2008). It is thought that a higher level of Fig.…”

Interaction of the CD43 Sialomucin with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cpn60.2 Chaperonin Leads to Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Production

“…Two isoforms (115 kDa and 130 kDa) which express differentially branched sialic acid-rich hexasaccharides have been described for CD43 (27,28). This sialomucin is a multifunctional protein that participates in differentiation, proliferation, locomotion, and adhesion by activating multiple cell signaling pathways through its highly conserved intracellular domain (29)(30)(31). Its extracellular domain has a rod-like structure that extends out of the cell membrane up to 45 nm (32), suggesting that CD43 regulates the first contacts of a cell.…”