H. Charbonneau, N.K. Tonks, K.A. Walsh, E.H. Fischer, "The leukocyte common antigen (CD45): a putative receptor-linked protein tyrosine phosphatase," PNAS, 85, 7182-86, October 1988.
Harry Charbonneau (University of Washington, Seattle): "The role of protein tyrosine kinases in the control of normal and neoplastic cell growth is widely accepted; however, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) that oppose the action of these kinases by dephosphorylating tyrosyl residues are also potentially important regulatory molecules. Consequently, we determined the amino acid sequence of a major low Mr PTPase from human placenta (PTPase 1B) in order to study its structure, function, and regulation.
"To our surprise, we discovered that much of the PTPase 1B sequence is homologous to each of two tandem, cytoplasmic domains of a transmembrane glycoprotein known as the leukocyte common antigen, or CD45. This exciting finding provided the first hint that PTPases may also exist in transmembrane forms with topological features that resemble ...
