Experimental Dissection of the Cellular Machinery Involved in Receptor Mediated Endocytosis and Translocation

Author(s):  
J.L. Salisbury

The cultured human lymphoblastoid cell line WiL2 is a model system of choice for studies on receptor mediated endocytosis (RME). These cells display antigen receptor immunoglobulin of the IgM class (rIgM) as integral plasma membrane proteins which are present in diffuse cell surface distribution in unstimulated cells. Initially, rIgM occurs over uncoated regions of the plasma membrane. Crosslinking rIgM with multivalent antibody (ligand) results in the entry of ferritin-labelled ligand-rIgM complexes into the RME pathway (Figure 1). Stimulation of RME by ligand challenge results in an approximately three-fold increase in cell surface area displaying clathrin coats on the cytoplasmic face of the membrane. The newly formed coated pits are located directly beneath ferritin-labelled ligand-receptor complexes and their appearance is sensitive to the calmodulin directed drug trifluoperazine dihydrochloride (TFP). Calmodulin is a calcium dependent regulatory protein which recognizes local transient fluxes of cytoplasmic Ca+2 and activates a wide variety of enzymes and other protein systems. In addition, antibodies raised against calf brain calmodulin were used in indirect immunofluorescence studies.


1979 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Willingham ◽  
F R Maxfield ◽  
I H Pastan

Using transmission electron microscopy, we have studied the interaction of alpha 2 macroglobulin (alpha 2 M) with the surface of cultured fibroblasts. When cells were incubated for 2 h at 4 degrees C with ferritin-conjugated alpha 2 M, approximately 90% of the alpha 2 M was diffusely distributed on the cell surface, and the other 10% was concentrated in "coated" pits. A pattern of diffuse labeling with some clustering in "coated" pits was also obtained when cells were incubated for 5 min at 4 degrees C with alpha 2 M, fixed with glutaraldehyde, and the alpha 2 M was localized with affinity-purified, peroxidase-labeled antibody to alpha 2 M. Experiments in which cells were fixed with 0.2% paraformaldehyde before incubation with alpha 2 M showed that the native distribution of alpha 2 M receptors was entirely diffuse without significant clustering in "coated" pits. This indicates that some redistribution of the alpha 2 M-receptor complexes into clusters occurred even at 4 degrees C. In experiments with concanavalin A(Con A), we found that some of the Con A clustered in coated regions of the membrane and was internalized in coated vesicles, but much of the Con A was directly internalized in uncoated vesicles or pinosomes. We conclude that unoccupied alpha 2 M receptors are diffusely distributed on the cell surface. When alpha 2 M-receptor complexes are formed, they rapidly cluster in coated regions or pits in the plasma membrane and subsequently are internalized in coated vesicles. Because insulin and epidermal growth factor are internalized in the same structures as alpha 2 M (Maxfield, F.R., J. Schlessinger, Y. Schechter, I. Pastan, and M.C. Willingham. 1978. Cell, 14: 805--810.), we suggest that all peptide hormones, as well as other proteins that enter the cell by receptor-mediated endocytosis, follow this same pathway.



2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (7) ◽  
pp. 4080-4089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matloob Husain ◽  
Bernard Moss

ABSTRACT Infectious intracellular mature vaccinia virus particles are wrapped by cisternae, which may arise from trans-Golgi or early endosomal membranes, and are transported along microtubules to the plasma membrane where exocytosis occurs. We used EH21, a dominant-negative form of Eps15 that is an essential component of clathrin-coated pits, to investigate the extent and importance of endocytosis of viral envelope proteins from the cell surface. Several recombinant vaccinia viruses that inducibly or constitutively express an enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP)-EH21 fusion protein were constructed. Expression of GFP-EH21 blocked uptake of transferrin, a marker for clathrin-mediated endocytosis, as well as association of adaptor protein-2 with clathrin-coated pits. When GFP-EH21 was expressed, there were increased amounts of viral envelope proteins, including A33, A36, B5, and F13, in the plasma membrane, and their internalization was inhibited. Wrapping of virions appeared to be qualitatively unaffected as judged by electron microscopy, a finding consistent with a primary trans-Golgi origin of the cisternae. However, GFP-EH21 expression caused a 50% reduction in released enveloped virions, decreased formation of satellite plaques, and delayed virus spread, indicating an important role for receptor-mediated endocytosis. Due to dynamic interconnection between endocytic and exocytic pathways, viral proteins recovered from the plasma membrane could be used by trans-Golgi or endosomal cisternae to form new viral envelopes. Adherence of enveloped virions to unrecycled viral proteins on the cell surface may also contribute to decreased virus release in the presence of GFP-EH21. In addition to a salvage function, the retrieval of viral proteins from the cell surface may reduce immune recognition.



1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1003-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Willingham ◽  
A V Rutherford ◽  
M G Gallo ◽  
J Wehland ◽  
R B Dickson ◽  
...  

Concentrative receptor-mediated endocytosis of many specific ligands by cultured fibroblasts occurs through the coated pit-receptosome pathway. The formation of receptosomes was studied using two impermeant electron-dense labels for the cell surface, ruthenium red and concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase. These studies show that at 4 degrees C, virtually all coated structures near the plasma membrane are in communication with the cell surface, and are not isolated coated vesicles. On warming cells to 37 degrees C for only 1 minute, a major portion of these structures become cryptic, that is, not labeled by these surface markers. However, on cooling cells immediately back to 4 degrees C, virtually all of these structures are again in communication with the surface. Many images showed that membrane of these cryptic pits to be continuous with the cell surface when caught in the appropriate plane of section; often there was a very narrow entrance that excluded extracellular label. At 37 degrees C, receptosomes could be occasionally seen forming as an invagination of membrane adjacent to the coated region. Mechanisms by which receptosomes may form and other evidence demonstrating the failure of coated pits to pinch off to form isolated coated vesicles during endocytosis are discussed.



1989 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-168
Author(s):  
A.H. Janeczek ◽  
W.A. Marasco ◽  
P.J. van Alten ◽  
R.J. Walter

Formylpeptide chemoattractant binds specifically to leukocyte cell surface receptors and during chemotactic activation, is internalized and processed by these cells. Using electron microscope autoradiographic techniques, we have examined the binding, uptake and disposition of fNle-Leu-Phe-Nle-[125I]Tyr-Lys by rabbit peritoneal neutrophils. Cells were incubated with ligand for 15 min at 4 degrees C, rinsed and then further incubated in buffer at 4 degrees C, 15 degrees C, 24 degrees C, or 37 degrees C for 0–40 min. For all cells incubated at 4 degrees C, grains were predominantly localized on the plasma membrane. Initially, this formylpeptide was seen in small clusters or microaggregates that were not associated with coated pits. Upon further incubation at 37 degrees C for 1 min, formylpeptide clustering on the plasma membrane increased and extensive internalization of formylpeptide was observed. Endocytosis of formylpeptide-receptor complexes clearly involved uncoated membrane pits and vesicles but did not appear to involve coated pits or coated vesicles. In the following 3 min, peptide proceeded in waves through compartments composed of small uncoated endocytic vesicles, then large vesicles, and then into dense granules. After 4 min at 37 degrees C, the most active phase of intracellular processing subsided. The percentage of grains in the cytoplasm, granule and small vesicle compartments very gradually increased during the remainder of the 40 min incubation. Formylpeptide neither bound at 4 degrees C nor accumulated at 37 degrees C on the cell surface in proximity to the underlying Golgi/centrosome region of the cell. At 24 degrees C, processing was slowed but formylpeptide-receptor complexes proceeded through a similar series of compartments. The t1/2 for formylpeptide uptake at 37 degrees C was 15–20 s, whereas at 24 degrees C the t 1/2 was approximately 10 min. No uptake was observed at 15 degrees C. The distinctive characteristics of formylpeptide binding and receptor-complex uptake seen here may be essential in initiating and maintaining continued chemotactic responsiveness.



Author(s):  
L. M. Marshall

A human erythroleukemic cell line, metabolically blocked in a late stage of erythropoiesis, becomes capable of differentiation along the normal pathway when grown in the presence of hemin. This process is characterized by hemoglobin synthesis followed by rearrangement of the plasma membrane proteins and culminates in asymmetrical cytokinesis in the absence of nuclear division. A reticulocyte-like cell buds from the nucleus-containing parent cell after erythrocyte specific membrane proteins have been sequestered into its membrane. In this process the parent cell faces two obstacles. First, to organize its erythrocyte specific proteins at one pole of the cell for inclusion in the reticulocyte; second, to reduce or abolish membrane protein turnover since hemoglobin is virtually the only protein being synthesized at this stage. A means of achieving redistribution and cessation of turnover could involve movement of membrane proteins by a directional lipid flow. Generation of a lipid flow towards one pole and accumulation of erythrocyte-specific membrane proteins could be achieved by clathrin coated pits which are implicated in membrane endocytosis, intracellular transport and turnover. In non-differentiating cells, membrane proteins are turned over and are random in surface distribution. If, however, the erythrocyte specific proteins in differentiating cells were excluded from endocytosing coated pits, not only would their turnover cease, but they would also tend to drift towards and collect at the site of endocytosis. This hypothesis requires that different protein species are endocytosed by the coated vesicles in non-differentiating than by differentiating cells.



1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 818-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
M C Willingham ◽  
F R Maxfield ◽  
I Pastan

Alpha 2-macroglobulin is internalized into cultured fibroblasts by receptor-mediated endocytosis. This ligand binds initially to diffusely distributed receptors on the cell surface which cluster rapidly into bristle-coated pits. Within a few minutes at 37 degrees C, these complexes are internalized into uncoated cytoplasmic vesicles, called receptosomes, which move about in the cell by saltatory motion. These vesicles interact with the Golgi-endoplasmic reticulum-lysosome system in the cell to deliver the ligand to newly formed lysosomes within 30--60 min.



1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 1303-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Benmerah ◽  
M. Bayrou ◽  
N. Cerf-Bensussan ◽  
A. Dautry-Varsat

Recent data have shown that Eps15, a newly identified component of clathrin-coated pits constitutively associated with the AP-2 complex, is required for receptor-mediated endocytosis. However, its precise function remains unknown. Interestingly, Eps15 contains three EH (Eps15-Homology) domains also found in proteins required for the internalization step of endocytosis in yeast. Results presented here show that EH domains are required for correct coated pit targeting of Eps15. Furthermore, when cells expressed an Eps15 mutant lacking EH domains, the plasma membrane punctate distribution of both AP-2 and clathrin was lost, implying the absence of coated pits. This was further confirmed by the fact that dynamin, a GTPase found in coated pits, was homogeneously redistributed on the plasma membrane and that endocytosis of transferrin, a specific marker of clathrin-dependent endocytosis, was strongly inhibited. Altogether, these results strongly suggest a role for Eps15 in coated pit assembly and more precisely a role for Eps15 in the docking of AP-2 onto the plasma membrane. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that a GFP fusion protein encoding the ear domain of (alpha)-adaptin, the AP-2 binding site for Eps15, was efficiently targeted to plasma membrane coated pits.



1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 1055-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Benmerah ◽  
Christophe Lamaze ◽  
Bernadette Bègue ◽  
Sandra L. Schmid ◽  
Alice Dautry-Varsat ◽  
...  

We have previously shown that the protein Eps15 is constitutively associated with the plasma membrane adaptor complex, AP-2, suggesting its possible role in endocytosis. To explore the role of Eps15 and the function of AP-2/Eps15 association in endocytosis, the Eps15 binding domain for AP-2 was precisely delineated. The entire COOH-terminal domain of Eps15 or a mutant form lacking all the AP-2–binding sites was fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP), and these constructs were transiently transfected in HeLa cells. Overexpression of the fusion protein containing the entire COOH-terminal domain of Eps15 strongly inhibited endocytosis of transferrin, whereas the fusion protein in which the AP-2–binding sites had been deleted had no effect. These results were confirmed in a cell-free assay that uses perforated A431 cells to follow the first steps of coated vesicle formation at the plasma membrane. Addition of Eps15-derived glutathione-S-transferase fusion proteins containing the AP-2–binding site in this assay inhibited not only constitutive endocytosis of transferrin but also ligand-induced endocytosis of epidermal growth factor. This inhibition could be ascribed to a competition between the fusion protein and endogenous Eps15 for AP-2 binding. Altogether, these results show that interaction of Eps15 with AP-2 is required for efficient receptor-mediated endocytosis and thus provide the first evidence that Eps15 is involved in the function of plasma membrane–coated pits.



1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D Chantler

A protein complex is shown to participate in a calcium-dependent association with plasma membranes purified either from pig mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes or from human lymphoblastoid cell lines. Plasma membranes prepared in the presence of calcium possess this complex; those prepared in the absence of calcium (5 mM EGTA) do not. The complex associates itself with the inner cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane. This complex is referred to as the "acidic protein band" because of its location during migration upon alkaline-urea gel electrophoresis. The complex dissociates from the plasma membrane during electrophoresis on 8-M urea gels, irrespective of calcium levels during electrophoresis; at intermediate urea concentrations (4-6 M), the complex is not dissociated in the presence of calcium. Upon purification of the acidic protein band, SDS acrylamide gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting, and radioimmunoassay techniques suggest that the acidic protein band is composed of at least four peptides (designated 68K, 59K, 20K, 20K): two of these (68K, 20K) are immunopositive for calcineurin and one (20K) is immunopositive for calmodulin. Immunoblots of urea gels also indicate that the calcineurin heavy chain (68K) can also appear at three different locations on the urea gel. Patches and caps induced in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by fluorescein-conjugated goat anti-human IgG are not coincident with the location of calcineurin, which remains distributed throughout the cell.



1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2606-2618 ◽  
Author(s):  
C M Isacke ◽  
P van der Geer ◽  
T Hunter ◽  
I S Trowbridge

A 180-kilodalton (kDa) protein (p180) was identified among the antigens for a panel of monoclonal antibodies raised against human fibroblast cell surface proteins. Binding studies with 125I-Fab' fragments of an anti-p180 monoclonal antibody demonstrated that 10 to 30% of p180 was located on the plasma membrane and that the remaining 70 to 90% was on intracellular membranes. p180 was rapidly internalized from the cell surface at 37 degrees C, and kinetic analyses indicated that this was a constitutive process followed by the recycling of p180 back to the plasma membrane. Morphological studies demonstrated that on the cell surface p180 was concentrated in coated pits, whereas inside the cell it was found in endosomes as suggested by its colocalization with the transferrin receptor. Immunoblot analysis with a polyclonal antiserum raised against purified human protein showed that p180 has a restricted distribution with expression at high levels in fibroblast cultures and in tissues containing cells of mesodermal origin. A biochemical characterization of p180 showed it to be a transmembrane glycoprotein with an extracellular domain, which consists of approximately 30 kDa of complex oligosaccharides attached to at least 45 kDa of the protein core. The cytoplasmic domain of p180 was found to contain a serine residue(s) that was phosphorylated both in vivo and in vitro by activated protein kinase C. p180 was purified by subjecting solubilized membrane proteins from a human osteosarcoma cell line to immunoaffinity chromatography and gel filtration. The N-terminal sequence information obtained from the purified protein showed no homology to other known proteins. It was concluded that p180 may be a novel recycling receptor which is highly restricted in its expression to fibroblastlike cells.



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