Label-free quantitative phosphorylation analysis of human transgelin2 in Jurkat T cells reveals distinct phosphorylation patterns under PKA and PKC activation conditions

BACKGROUND: Transgelin2, one of cytoskeletal actin binding proteins has recently been suggested to be involved in the formation of immune synapses. Although detailed function of transgelin2 is largely unknown, interactions between transgelin2 and actin appear to be important in regulating cellular functions of transgelin2. Because protein phosphorylation can change ability to interact with other proteins, comprehensive phosphorylation analysis of transgelin2 will be helpful in understanding its functional mechanisms. RESULTS: Here, a specific protein label-free quantitative phosphorylation analysis method combining immuno-precipitation, IMAC phosphopeptide enrichment technique and label-free relative quantification analysis was used to monitor the phosphorylation changes of transgelin2 overexpressed in Jurkat T cells under protein kinase C (PKC) and protein kinase A (PKA) activation conditions, two representative intracellular signalling pathways of immune cell activation and homeostasis. A total of six serine/threonine phosphorylation sites were identified including threonine-84, a novel phosphorylation site. Notably, distinct phosphorylation patterns of transgelin2 under the two kinase activation conditions were observed. Most phosphorylation sites showing specific kinase-dependent phosphorylation changes were discretely located in two previously characterized actin-binding regions: actin-binding site (ABS) and calponin repeat domain (CNR). PKC activation increased phosphorylation of threonine-180 and serine-185 in the CNR, and PKA activation increased phosphorylation of serine-163 in the ABS. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple actin-binding regions of transgelin2 participate to accomplish its full actin-binding capability, and the actin-binding affinity of each actin-binding region appears to be modulated by specific kinase-dependent phosphorylation changes. Accordingly, different actin-binding properties or cellular functions of transgelin2 may result from distinct intracellular signalling events under immune response activation or homeostasis conditions. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12953-015-0070-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.