Endocytosis Of Hormone Research Articles

Mu 1A deficiency induces a profound increase in MPR300/IGF-II receptor internalization rate.

The mannose-6-phosphate/IGF-II receptor MPR300 mediates sorting of lysosomal enzymes from the trans-Golgi network to endosomes and endocytosis of hormones, for example, of IGF-II. We analyzed transport of MPR300 in mu1A-adaptin-deficient fibroblasts, which lack a functional AP-1 clathrin adaptor complex. In mu1A-adaptin-deficient fibroblasts, the homologous MPR46 accumulates in endosomes due to a block in retrograde transport to the trans-Golgi network. The MPR300-mediated endocytosis is markedly enhanced. We demonstrate that the seven-fold increase in endocytosis is not associated with an increased steady-state concentration of receptors at the plasma membrane, but with an increased internalization rate of MPR300. Internalization of other receptors that are also endocytosed by AP-2 is not affected. More MPR300 receptors are found in clathrin-coated pits of the plasma membrane, whereas outside coated-areas, more MPR300 are concentrated in clusters and all intracellular receptors reside in endosomes, which are in equilibrium with the plasma membrane. Thus AP-1-mediated transport of MPR300 from endosomes to the TGN controls indirectly the recycling rate of the receptor between the plasma membrane and endosomes.

Protein kinase activity of the insulin receptor.

The insulin receptor is an integral membrane glycoprotein (Mr approximately 300,000) composed of two alpha-subunits (Mr approximately 130,000) and two beta-subunits (Mr approximately 95,000) linked by disulphide bonds. This oligomeric structure divides the receptor into two functional domains such that alpha-subunits bind insulin and beta-subunits possess tyrosine kinase activity. The amino acid sequence deduced from cDNA of the single polypeptide chain precursor of human placental insulin receptor revealed that alpha- and beta-subunits consist of 735 and 620 residues, respectively. The alpha-subunit is hydrophilic, disulphide-bonded, glycosylated and probably extracellular. The beta-subunit consists of a short extracellular region which links the alpha-subunit through disulphide bridges, a hydrophobic transmembrane region and a longer cytoplasmic region which is structurally homologous with other tyrosine kinases like the src oncogene product and EGF receptor kinases. The cellular function of insulin receptors is dual: transmembrane signalling and endocytosis of hormone. The binding of insulin to its receptor on the cell membrane induces transfer of signal from extracellular to cytoplasmic receptor domains leading to activation of cell metabolism and growth. In addition, hormone-receptor complexes are internalized leading to intracellular proteolysis of insulin, whereas receptors are recycled to the membrane. These phenomena are kinetically well-characterized, but their molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Insulin receptor in different tissues and animal species are homologous in their structure and function, but show also significant differences regarding size of alpha-subunits, binding kinetics, insulin specificity and receptor-mediated degradation. We suggest that this heterogeneity of receptors may be linked to the diversity in insulin effects on metabolism and growth in various cell types. The purified insulin receptor phosphorylates its own beta-subunit and exogenous protein and peptide substrates on tyrosine residues, a reaction which is insulin-sensitive, Mn2+-dependent and specific for ATP. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the beta-subunit activates receptor kinase activity, and dephosphorylation with alkaline phosphatase deactivates the kinase. In intact cells or impure receptor preparations, a serine kinase is also activated by insulin. The cellular role of two kinase activities associated with the insulin receptor is not known, but we propose that the tyrosine- and serine-specific kinases mediate insulin actions on metabolism and growth either through dual-signalling or sequential pathways.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)