Immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM), a unique module linking antigen and Fc receptors to their signaling cascades

Signal transduction by the T cell and B cell antigen receptors and by receptors for a variety of immunoglobulins' Fc region is strictly dependent on a receptor subunit cytoplasmic module termed immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). This module exists in one or more copies in each of the receptor-associated signal-transducing molecules and it possesses two repeats of the consensus sequence Tyr-X-X-Leu/Ile spaced by six to eight amino acids. Receptor engagement is followed by a rapid and transient phosphorylation of tyrosine residues within their ITAMs, thereby creating temporary binding sites for Src homology 2 (SH2)-containing signaling molecules operating downstream of the activated receptor. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent findings on the functional role of ITAMs in antigen and Fc receptor-mediated signal transduction, with a particular emphasis on kinases operating upstream and downstream of the ITAMs.