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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 47, 46927-46937, November 21, 2003
Ligand Binding Determines Whether CD46 Is Internalized by Clathrin-coated Pits or Macropinocytosis*![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
From the
Received for publication, July 29, 2003 , and in revised form, August 29, 2003.
CD46 is a ubiquitous human cell surface receptor for the complement components C3b and C4b and for various pathogens, including the measles virus and human herpes virus 6. Ligand binding to CD46 affects (i) protection of autologous cells from complement attack by breakdown of complement components, (ii) intracellular signals that affect the regulation of immune cell function, (iii) antigen presentation, and (iv) down-regulation of cell surface CD46. Recent evidence indicates that CD46 signaling can link innate and acquired immune function. The molecular mechanisms for these processes and the importance of intracellular trafficking of the receptor have not yet been elucidated. We demonstrate here that, in nonlymphoid cells, CD46 is constitutively internalized via clathrin-coated pits, traffics to multivesicular bodies, and is recycled to the cell surface. However, cross-linking of CD46 at the cell surface, by either multivalent antibody or by measles virus, induces pseudopodia that engulf the ligand in a process similar to macropinocytosis, and leads to the degradation of cell surface CD46. Thus, we have elucidated two pathways for CD46 internalization, which are regulated by the valence of cross-linking of CD46 and which utilize either clathrin-coated pits or pseudopodial extension. This has important implications for CD46 signaling, antigen presentation, CD46 down-regulation, and engulfment of pathogens.
CD46 is a human cell surface receptor that regulates innate and acquired immune function. CD46 is expressed on all cells except red blood cells and is a receptor for the complement components C3b and C4b and for pathogens, including measles virus, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and meningitides, Group A streptococcus, and human herpes virus 6 (16). Signaling through CD46 affects T cell functions, including increased proliferation of CD3-stimulated cells, suggesting that CD46 might act as a T cell costimulatory molecule (7, 8); immunosuppression in mice transgenic for specific isoforms of CD46 (9, 10); and induction of T-regulatory (Tr1) cells (11). Signaling through CD46 can also regulate cytokine production in macrophages (1215), and binding to CD46 can influence how foreign antigen is presented to the immune system by MHC1 Class I or II (1621). CD46 also plays a critical role in the protection of cells from complement-mediated destruction by acting as a cofactor for the factor-I mediated breakdown of C3b and C4b (4).
An interaction of CD46 with measles hemagglutinin can trigger a rapid down-regulation of CD46 from the cell surface (32). This down-regulation is associated with an increased susceptibility to complement-mediated attack and reduced infectability of the cell to measles and most likely affects antigen presentation and signal transduction through CD46 (20, 2229). It is implicitly understood that the internalization of CD46 from the cell surface is important for many of the functions described above, but the pathway by which CD46 is internalized has not been elucidated. Indeed, some studies have concluded that CD46 is not internalized (30, 31), although another study has demonstrated internalization of CD46 by immunofluorescence microscopy (32). In support of the notion that CD46 internalization is of biological importance is an observation that the YXXL motif at the juxtamembrane region of the cytoplasm (a motif implicated in internalization of many other proteins) is important for CD46 down-regulation in response to measles infection (23). Furthermore, the effects of CD46 on the presentation of measles antigen can be blocked by inhibitors of endocytosis (16, 19). We show here the first characterization of CD46 internalization and define two different routes followed by CD46 after internalization. We discuss the implications of these observations to pathogen infection, antigen presentation, CD46 down-regulation, and signal transduction through CD46.
ReagentsCell lines used were CHO-K1 cells (ATCC clone CCL-61), HeLa, M2, L929, Jurkat E61, A7-CEM, HPB-TALL, MLA-144, LOVO, COLO-205, U937, U2OS, THP-1, DU145, PC-3-40, K562, Daudi, CCRF CEM, COS7 cells expressing Gal 1,3-galactosyl transferase (33), and L929 cells transfected with measles hemagglutinin (L-H cells (26)). Human peripheral T cells were isolated by centrifugation with Ficoll-Paque (Amersham Biosciences) in LeucoSep tubes (BD Biosciences). Human dendritic cells were enriched from buffy coats by purification over Ficoll-Paque, adhered to plastic (2 h at 37 °C), and cultured in 800 units/ml human recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (Schering Plough Ltd., Australia) and 500 units/ml human recombinant IL-4 (PeproTech) in AIM-V (Invitrogen) for 6 days. CHO-K1 cells were transfected with either Superfect (Qiagen) or LipofectAMINE Plus (Invitrogen), selected in Geneticin, and cloned by limiting dilution. COS7 cells were transfected with Superfect Plus (Qiagen, Germany) and analyzed after 48 h. All cell lines were cultured at 37 °C in 5% CO2. Monoclonal antibodies to CD46 were E4.3 (affinity-purified IgG2a (34)), M177 (IgG1 (35)), GB24 (IgG1 (36)), and MCI20.6 (IgG1 (6)). The 1840 rabbit antibody to CD46 was raised against recombinant extracellular domain of CD46, and both protein A-purified and whole serum were used. Other antibodies were to CD71 (BD Pharmingen, San Diego, CA), CD55 (1H4 (37)), CD7 (IgG2a, 1715 (38)), tubulin (IgG1; Sigma), and normal rabbit serum. Secondary antibodies were fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)- or phycoerythrin (PE)-coupled sheep anti-mouse and sheep anti-rabbit F(ab')2 antibodies (Sigma) and Alexa594 F(ab')2 antibodies (Molecular Probes, The Netherlands). The lectin Griffonia simplificifolia B4 (IB-4; Sigma) was biotinylated using standard methods and was detected with Streptavidin-Alexa594 (Molecular Probes, The Netherlands). CD46 (based on either the pm5.1 clone containing B and C STP exons and the Cyt1 cytoplasmic domain or the pm5.3 clone containing the B STP exon and the Cyt2 cytoplasmic domain (39, 40)) was subcloned into pCDNA3 (Invitrogen), and silent nucleotide substitutions were made within the short consensus repeat domains to increase translational efficiency (41). CD46-EGFP (both Cyt1 and Cyt2 isoforms) was generated by replacing the region encoding the Ser/Thr/Pro-rich region (from amino acid position 286 to 314; GI:180137) of CD46 with that encoding EGFP (Clontech). In all experiments, both Cyt1 and Cyt2 isoforms gave identical results, and representative experiments from one isoform are shown. Flow Cytometric Analysis of CD46 Internalization and Down-regulationAll incubations were performed in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10% fetal calf serum and 5.6 mM glutamine. To label surface CD46, cells were incubated either with Alexa-488-E4.3 (10 µg/ml) or with E4.3 (3.9 µg/ml) for 30 min on ice, washed, and incubated with either FITC- or PE-conjugated F(ab')2 antibody to mouse immunoglobulin (1:100 dilution), and washed again. To allow internalization, cells were incubated in 5% CO2 at 37 °C (or 4 °C as a control). Internalization was stopped by the addition of prechilled medium containing 0.1% sodium azide. To determine the amount of internalized CD46, surface label was removed from the cell surface by incubation with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at pH 2.0 for 10 min on ice ("acid strip"), and cells were washed three times and resuspended in PBS containing 2% (w/v) glucose, 2% (v/v) formaldehyde and 0.02% sodium azide for analysis by flow cytometry (BD Biosciences). In some experiments, the F(ab') fragment of E4.3 was used without a secondary antibody to ensure monovalent binding. In these instances, intracellular antibody was detected after internalization, acid stripping, fixation, permeabilization, and incubation with a fluoresceinated secondary antibody to mouse immunoglobulin. To detect the down-regulation of CD46, samples were incubated with 10 µg/ml freshly prepared cycloheximide for 1 h and then incubated with L-H cells at a ratio of 1:1 or antibody as shown. Surface antibody was removed by incubation in PBS at pH 2.0 for 10 min on ice, and cells were stained for surface CD46 by incubation with 1840 followed by PE-labeled antibodies to rabbit immunoglobulin as described above. Controls (treated and not treated with acid, lacking the primary or secondary CD46 antibody) indicated that the acid treatment had removed surface antibody and that the first antibody did not affect the binding of 1840.
Confocal MicroscopyCells were grown in four- or eight-chamber tissue culture slides (Nunc), labeled with E4.3 or 1840 in ice-cold Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, and incubated at 4 or 37 °C for up to 4 h. Samples were fixed and permeabilized using the shift-base method (42), labeled with either FITC- or Alexa594-conjugated antibody to mouse or rabbit immunoglobulin, and mounted in AntiFade (Molecular Probes). Analysis of CD46 internalization after cross-linking at the cell surface was as described above, except that the fluoresceinated antibody to mouse immunoglobulin was used before internalization at 37 °C. To monitor CD46 internalization after L-H treatment, cells were labeled with the GB24 antibody to CD46 (which does not block hemagglutinin binding to CD46). After incubation with L-H cells, antibody localization was determined by either direct microscopy (if CD46-EGFP was used) or by fixation, permeabilization, and labeling with Alexa594-coupled antibody to mouse immunoglobulin. The Golgi was detected as previously described, by staining the Gal Transmission Electron MicroscopyThe internalization of CD46 was examined with immunoelectron microscopy using three different cell lines: CHO-K1 stably transfected with CD46, COS7 cells transiently transfected with CD46, and HeLa cells expressing endogenous CD46, all of which gave similar results. Cells were labeled with antibodies against CD46 either prior to or after chemical fixation. Antibodies to CD46 used in these experiments were 1840 or E4.3 (2 µg/ml). As controls, cells were also labeled with antibody to CD55 (35 µg/ml), CD71 (IgG2a; 5 µg/ml), and CD7 (IgG2a; 1:1000 dilution) either before or after chemical fixation. For prefixation labeling experiments, cells were exposed to the antibody at 4 °C and then incubated at 37 °C for 30 or 60 min. Cells were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.05% glutaraldehyde in 0.08 M Sorensen's phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, for 30 min at room temperature, rinsed in 0.08 M Sorensen's phosphate buffer with 5% sucrose, free aldehydes were quenched, and cells were permeabilized with 0.1% freshly prepared sodium borohydride in 0.08 M Sorensen's phosphate buffer. Cells were incubated in blocking buffer (5% bovine serum albumin, 5% normal goat serum in PBS) for 1 h. Cells not exposed to a primary antibody prior to fixation were incubated with the antibody dilutions mentioned above and incubated overnight at 4 °C. Cells were incubated overnight at 4 °C with the (Fab')2 fragments of goat IgG against mouse immunoglobulin conjugated to Ultrasmall Gold (Aurion) diluted 1:50 in incubation buffer (0.8% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% cold water fish skin gelatin in PBS, pH 7.2), and washed thoroughly in incubation buffer. Cells were subsequently washed in PBS followed by distilled H2O and then silver-enhanced (Aurion Silver Enhance Kit R-GENT LM) for 20 min at room temperature. Cells were washed in distilled H2O before secondary fixation in 2% phosphate-buffered osmium tetroxide, rinsed in distilled H2O, dehydrated through a graded series of alcohols, acetone-rinsed, and embedded in Spurr's resin. Ultrathin sections were cut on an Ultracut S (Leica, Austria) with a diamond knife (Diatome, Austria). Sections were double-stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and examined in a Hitachi H600 Transmission Electron Microscope. SDS-PAGEHeLa cells were incubated in 1840 (2 µg/ml) or normal rabbit serum for 30 min or 4 h at 37 °C. Cells were lysed at 5x107 cells/ml in 140 mM NaCl, 0.5% Nonidet P-40, 10 mM Tris, pH 8.0, 5 mM EDTA with Complete protease inhibitors (Roche Applied Science). Lysates were electrophoresed on a 10% SDS-PAGE gel in nonreducing conditions, transferred and probed with E4.3 (3.9 µg/ml), stripped, and reprobed with antibody to tubulin (1:5,000).
Measles Virus Binding and InternalizationCells were harvested from nonconfluent monolayers, washed in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, and then incubated with purified MV Hall Yeast Two-hybrid AssayScreening and validation of the interaction between CD46 and AP-2 was performed as described in Ref. 45. Sequences encoded by the GAL4-BD fusion constructs were PYRYLQRRKKKGTYLTDETHREVKFTSL and PYRYLQRRKKKGKADGGAEYATYQTKSTTPAEQRG for Cyt1 and Cyt2, respectively.
CD46 Internalizes without Cross-linkingTo measure the internalization of CD46, cells were labeled with saturating amounts of FITC-labeled E4.3 antibody to CD46 at 4 °C. Following incubation at either 4 or 37 °C for 30 min, the internalized antibody was quantified by comparing fluorescence levels with or without acid removal of surface-bound antibody ("acid stripping"). Antibodies to CD46 were internalized from the surface of HeLa cells (Fig. 1A, i) but not from the T cell line MLA-144 (Fig. 1A, ii), as indicated by protection from acid stripping after incubation at 37 °C (solid line) compared with 4 °C (dotted line). Similar fluorescence was seen between non-acid-treated cells at 4 and 37 °C, indicating that antibody was not shed from the cell surface (Fig. 1A, iii and iv). CD46 was internalized from all nonlymphocyte cell types tested, but little or no internalization after 30 min was detected from the surface of human peripheral lymphocytes or lymphocyte cell lines (Table I). Internalization was evident by 15 min and peaked within 3060 min, and both Cyt1 and Cyt2 isoforms of CD46 gave identical patterns of internalization (data not shown). The antibody internalization was specifically dependent upon CD46, since control antibodies, antibodies to CD46 incubated with untransfected CHO-K1 cells, and an antibody to the multidrug resistance protein Pgp bound to A7-CEM cells were not internalized at this time point (data not shown). These data indicate that noncross-linked CD46 internalizes from the surface of nonlymphocyte cells but not from the surface of lymphocytes.
CD46 internalization was also observed with F(ab') fragments of E4.3 and with monoclonal antibodies directed to different epitopes of CD46 (M177, 20.6; data not shown), suggesting that CD46 internalization might be a constitutive process. We reasoned that, if the internalization of CD46 was a steady-state process not affected by the E4.3 antibody, treatment with E4.3 should not cause a down-regulation of CD46 at the cell surface. We therefore investigated whether incubation with the E4.3 antibody altered the surface expression of CD46 on HeLa cells (Fig. 1B). As a positive control for CD46 down-regulation, cells were incubated for 30 min at 37 °C with L929 cells expressing measles virus hemagglutinin (L-H cells). As previously described (26), incubation with L-H caused an extensive reduction in surface CD46 on the HeLa cells (Fig. 1B, i, solid line) compared with incubation with untransfected L929 cells (Fig. 1B, i, dotted line). In contrast, the surface expression of CD46 on HeLa cells (Fig. 1B, ii, dotted line) was not reduced by E4.3 incubation at 37 °C for 30 min (Fig. 1B, ii, solid line), despite this antibody being internalized (data not shown). Extending the incubation time to 4 h still had no effect on surface CD46 expression (data not shown), and the maintenance of CD46 surface expression was not due to new protein synthesis, since the cells were incubated with cycloheximide. These data indicate that the loss of CD46 from the cell surface through internalization is compensated by a gain in CD46 from an intracellular storage compartment and are compatible with the notion that CD46 is constitutively cycled between the cell surface and an intracellular compartment. Internalized CD46 Colocalizes with the Golgi Apparatus E4.3 antibody that had been internalized localized to a single region within the CHO cells transfected with CD46 (Fig. 1C, i). This staining was strikingly similar to the steady state localization of CD46 in these cells (Fig. 1C, ii), suggesting that internalized CD46 might traffic to the region of steady state CD46 localization. To test this hypothesis, we generated a CD46-EGFP fusion protein in which the Ser/Thr/Pro-rich extracellular stalk of CD46 was replaced with EGFP. CD46-EGFP had the same intracellular distribution and trafficking characteristics as wild type CD46, as determined by flow cytometric analysis (data not shown), steady state CD46-EGFP fluorescence (Fig. 1C, iii), and localization of internalized E4.3 antibody (Fig. 1C, iv). Importantly, the internalized antibody (Fig. 1C, iv, and red in Fig. 1C, v) colocalized with the CD46-EGFP fluorescence (Fig. 1C, iii, and green in Fig. 1C, v), indicating that internalized CD46 trafficked to the region of constitutive expression of CD46. These data indicate that intracellular CD46 is composed, at least in part, of CD46 that has been internalized from the cell surface.
Colocalization studies were performed to further define the location of intracellular CD46. First, cells were fixed, permeabilized, and costained with antibodies to CD46 and propidium iodide, which showed that intracellular CD46 was not in the nucleus (data not shown). Second, to detect the Golgi, we used the IB4 lectin, which binds to the Gal Internalized CD46 Traffics to Multivesicular BodiesTo more precisely define the localization of internalized CD46, we performed immunoelectron microscopy on HeLa cells. Antibody to CD46 labeled clusters of multivesicular bodies (Fig. 2A, i and ii). These multivesicular bodies were often perinuclear and in the vicinity of Golgi stacks (Fig. 2A, iii). This staining is in agreement with our coimmunofluorescent studies and is reminiscent of the recycling vesicles observed with the transferrin receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor, which are often near the Golgi apparatus (46, 47).
CD46 Internalizes via Clathrin-coated Pits and Interacts with the Clathrin Adaptor Protein AP-2The transferrin receptor traffics to multivesicular bodies via clathrin-coated pits. To determine whether CD46 internalization uses a similar mechanism, HeLa cells were incubated with the E4.3 antibody to CD46 for 60 min at 37 °C, fixed, permeabilized, and labeled with a gold-coupled antibody to mouse immunoglobulin. Antibody to CD46 was observed both in clathrin-coated pits budding from the cell surface (Fig. 2B, i) and in internalized clathrin-coated pits (Fig. 2B, ii). Controls for labeling included antibodies to CD71 (known to internalize through clathrin-coated pits) (Fig. 2B, iii) and antibodies to CD55 (a glycophosphatidylinositol-linked membrane protein that internalizes via caveolae) (Fig. 2B, iv), which were present on clathrin-coated pits and smaller, less electron-dense vesicles, respectively. Clathrin-coated pits were also seen when either CHO-K1 or COS7 cells transfected with CD46 were incubated with the E4.3 antibody (data not shown). To determine the trafficking of CD46 itself, we fixed and permeabilized untreated HeLa cells and immunolabeled with the E4.3 antibody to CD46. CD46 was observed in the clathrin-coated pits of these cells (Fig. 2C, i) and in internalized, clathrin-coated vesicles (Fig. 2C, ii), but the negative control antibody, 1715, did not label clathrin-coated pits (data not shown). These data indicate that the localization of internalized antibodies to CD46 corresponds to the localization of CD46 itself. Furthermore, the internalization of CD46 via clathrin-coated pits is a constitutive process, occurring without the addition of exogenous ligand. CD46 is alternatively spliced to encode two different cytoplasmic domains (Cyt1 and Cyt2), which are coexpressed in all cell types (40). Previously, a yeast two-hybrid screen showed that the cytoplasmic domain 1 of CD46 interacted with the cell polarity protein, Discs large (45). Here, we show that both cytoplasmic domains of CD46 associate with the AP-2 adaptor protein of clathrin-coated pits. The interacting fusion construct encoded protein containing, in frame, the FGYPQ domain of the µ subunit, known to bind to Y- and L-based sorting motifs (48). Cell growth, indicating an interaction, was observed when AP-2 was cotransformed with CD46-Cyt1 (Fig. 3A, i) or CD46-Cyt2 (Fig. 3A, ii), but not when AP-2 was cotransformed with the C-terminal region of cytoplasmic tail 2, missing the YXXL domain (Fig. 3A, iii). The interaction between AP-2 and CD46 detected in the two-hybrid system was specific, because cells transformed with AP-2 and pAS2.1 (Fig. 3A, iv) and pLAM (human laminin C) (Fig. 3A, v) did not grow. Growth of all transformants on medium deficient in Trp and Leu indicated that both plasmids were expressed (Fig. 3B, iv).
These data indicated that CD46 and AP-2 were associated via the 12-amino acid sequence common to both CD46 cytoplasmic tails. These 12 amino acids contain the sequence YRYL, which is of interest for two reasons. First, this sequence corresponds to the consensus YXXL motif known to be important for association of many other proteins with AP-2, for internalization via clathrin-coated pits, and for sorting to the multivesicular body (49). Second, this sequence has previously been shown to be required for the down-regulation of CD46 in cells constitutively infected with the measles virus, and it has been postulated that this was due to effects on internalization of CD46 (23). These data combined suggest that the YRYL sequence of CD46 mediates internalization in clathrin-coated pits via an interaction with AP-2 in a similar manner to the transferrin receptor. In support of this hypothesis is the observation that CD46 (Fig. 3C, i, and red in Fig. 3C, iii) and the transferrin receptor (Fig. 3C, ii, and green in Fig. 3C, iii) are both internalized to a similar perinuclear region. Internalized CD46 in COS7 cells were not clustered as tightly as in CHO cells and were visible throughout the cell. However, the vesicles clearly concentrated toward the middle of the cell, and the Image J Colocalization plug-in (National Institutes of Health) (white in Fig. 3C, iii) indicated that some, but not all, vesicles in this region contained both CD46 and transferrin receptor. Thus, CD46 associates with the clathrin-coated pit adaptor molecule AP-2 and is constitutively internalized via clathrin-coated pits, traffics to a multivesicular storage compartment near the Golgi apparatus, and is recycled to the cell surface. This process of internalization was termed "Pathway 1." Cross-linking of CD46 Alters the Mechanism of InternalizationDuring these investigations, we noted that Pathway 1 of CD46 internalization was only observed when the cells were incubated with monoclonal antibodies that had not been cross-linked by secondary antibodies. A strikingly different pattern of internalization was seen when cells were incubated with monoclonal antibodies that had been cross-linked with secondary antibodies or were incubated with a polyclonal antibody to CD46 (Pathway 2). In contrast to the pattern seen with monoor bivalent antibody (Pathway 1; Figs. 1C and 4A, i), incubation of cells with cross-linked E4.3 resulted in the trafficking of E4.3 to discrete intracellular vesicles. These vesicles were most evident near the plasma membrane after 15 min (Fig. 4A, ii) and converged toward the center of the cell by 1 h but remained clearly discrete (Fig. 4A, iii).
CHO-K1 cells expressing CD46-EGFP were used to correlate the internalized CD46 with the steady state CD46. Again, uncross-linked CD46 was internalized to the same intracellular region as the constitutive CD46 (Fig. 4B, i), and a histogram representing the fluorescence intensities across an individual cell shows superimposed red and green peaks (Fig. 4B, iii). In contrast, EGFP-CD46 that had been internalized after cross-linking with E4.3 and antibody to mouse immunoglobulin was observed in vesicles that aggregated toward, but remained distinct from, the constitutive intracellular CD46 (Fig. 4B, ii). In this case, the red histogram contained multiple peaks, which did not superimpose with the green histogram (Fig. 4B, iv). Importantly, treatment with the 1840 polyclonal antibody to CD46, which would also be expected to cause multivalent cross-linking, produced a staining pattern identical to that induced by cross-linked E4.3 (data not shown). Because the known physiological ligands to CD46 are multivalent (e.g. complement-fixed particles or virus containing multiple hemagglutinin molecules), we tested whether cross-linking CD46 with antibodies might have the same effect as cross-linking CD46 with physiological ligands. We therefore investigated the pattern of internalization induced by L-H cells (L929 cells expressing the measles virus hemagglutinin protein). These cells have been used extensively to analyze the effect of measles virus on CD46 function and mimic the effect of the measles virus in causing CD46 down-regulation (26). Indeed, incubation of CHO-K1 cells expressing CD46 with L-H cells induced a pattern of CD46 internalization similar to that seen with either cross-linked E4.3 or the polyclonal antibody, 1840 (Fig. 4C). Furthermore, expression of MV-H protein in HeLa cells resulted in the same intracellular staining pattern of CD46 (32). These data indicate that CD46 can internalize by two pathways and suggest that the pathway is determined by the extent of cross-linking of CD46. CD46 Internalization via Pathway 2 Leads to CD46 Down-regulationWe compared the surface expression of CD46 on Jurkat cells (Fig. 5A) that had been incubated for 4 h with (i) no stimulus, (ii) L-H cells, (iii) the E4.3 monoclonal antibody to CD46 (without cross-linking), or (iv) the 1840 polyclonal antibody to CD46. As expected, L-H caused the down-regulation of CD46 surface expression, and treatment with E4.3 alone had no effect on CD46 surface expression. Treatment with 1840 (iv) resulted in a loss of surface expression of CD46 similar to that seen after treatment with L-H cells. Thus, cross-linking of CD46 by either multivalent antibody or by treatment with multivalent measles hemagglutinin, which cause internalization through Pathway 2, results in down-regulation of CD46. In contrast, treatment with noncross-linking antibody, which involves internalization through Pathway 1, does not result in the down-regulation of CD46.
To confirm that the choice of pathway was determined by the valence of cross-linking, we compared treatments in which the same antibody (E4.3) to CD46 was bound at the same concentration, but the valence of cross-linking was changed using different concentrations of secondary antibody to mouse immunoglobulin. Indeed, although low concentrations of secondary antibody did not induce CD46 down-regulation (Fig. 5B, i), increasing concentrations of secondary antibody resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the down-regulation of CD46 (Fig. 5B, ii and iii). These differences were not due to a lack of binding or internalization, since significant binding of the antibody was detected in all cases (data not shown), and this antibody was internalized and protected from acid stripping in all cases (Fig. 5B, ivvi). Similarly, the 1840 antibody had differential effects on down-regulation, depending upon the concentration of the antibody, with low concentrations unable to induce down-regulation although the antibody was internalized (data not shown). These data indicate that concentrations of antibody to CD46 that mediate low valence binding do not divert the internalization pathway, so CD46 is internalized via Pathway 1 and is not down-regulated. In contrast, higher concentrations of antibody allow multivalent cross-linking and thus induce Pathway 2 and trigger the down-regulation of CD46. Down-regulation of Surface CD46 via Pathway 2 Results in Depletion of CD46 from Multivesicular BodiesOur investigations into the trafficking of CD46 through Pathway 1 suggested that the pool of CD46 present in multivesicular bodies is in dynamic equilibrium with the cell surface CD46 and that CD46 from multivesicular bodies is continually recycled to the cell surface. Therefore, the down-regulation of surface CD46 that we and others (2426, 32, 50) observed after cross-linking must be accompanied by a reduction in the CD46 in multivesicular bodies. To test this possibility, we first investigated the effect of cross-linking on the total cellular pool of CD46 using immunoblotting (Fig. 5C). Treatment of HeLa cells with the 1840 antibody almost completely abrogated CD46 expression by 4 h (compare lane 2 with lane 4), suggesting that both the cell surface and the intracellular pool of CD46 had been degraded. We next investigated the effect of surface cross-linking on the intracellular CD46-EGFP. CHO-K1 cells transfected with CD46-EGFP (Fig. 5D, i) were incubated with L-H cells expressing measles hemagglutinin protein for the indicated time points, and CD46-EGFP fluorescence was assessed by confocal microscopy. Within 15 min (Fig. 5D, ii), the expression of cell surface CD46 was reduced, and the expression of intracellular CD46 was slightly increased. However, after 1 h (Fig. 5D, iii) and 4 h (Fig. 5D, iv), CD46 both on the cell surface and in the perinuclear area was substantially decreased. These data indicate that cross-linking of CD46 at the cell surface not only affects cell surface CD46 but also diverts CD46 from storage in multivesicular bodies. A likely explanation for this observation is that CD46 rapidly exchanges between multivesicular bodies and the cell surface, so that CD46 that has constitutively internalized via Pathway 1 will rapidly recycle back to the cell surface, where it can be cross-linked and diverted through Pathway 2 to be degraded.
CD46 Internalization via Pathway 2 Utilizes the Induction of PseudopodiaWe used immunoelectron microscopy to determine the ultrastructural characteristics of Pathway 2. Incubation of CHO-K1 cells expressing CD46 with the 1840 polyclonal antibody did not result in the labeling of clathrin-coated pits. Instead, CD46 was clustered near pseudopodia or membrane ruffles, which folded over to enclose the CD46 in vesicles of
We next tested whether Pathway 2 could be induced by measles virus infection. HeLa cells were incubated with the Hallé strain of measles virus for 30 min and fixed to ensure that the virus was captured in the process of entering the cell rather than budding off from the cell. First, incubation with measles virus resulted in an increase in the density of pseudopodia, and this increase was not seen on CHO-K1 cells that did not express CD46, indicating that specific binding to CD46 was required for this effect. Strikingly, concentrations of virus that saturated CD46 binding triggered a dramatic change to the morphology of both transfected CHO-K1 (data not shown) and HeLa cells (Fig. 7, compare i with iiiv), with large numbers of pseudopodia clustered toward one pole of the cell away from the nucleus (Fig. 7, iiiv). Thus, cross-linking of CD46 by both 1840 or measles virus can induce the production of pseudopodia.
These observations raise the possibility that measles virus (or other pathogens that interact directly or indirectly with CD46) might internalize via macropinocytosis. The primary mechanism for measles internalization is through viral fusion, but alternative pathways may exist to remove fusion-incompetent virus from the cell surface. Measles virus is difficult to discriminate morphologically, so we could not conclusively identify viral particles. However, increasing numbers of particles that were of a size and shape compatible with measles virus were observed as cells were incubated with increasing amounts of virus (data not shown). These particles were often associated with pseudopodia and looked to be in the process of internalization by macropinocytosis (Fig. 7, iiii). These data combined indicate that the cross-linking of CD46 at the cell surface by polyvalent antibody or measles virus triggers a process similar to macropinocytosis.
We describe here the first comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms by which CD46 is internalized and show that internalized CD46 can follow one of two different intracellular pathways depending upon the valence of ligand binding at the cell surface and upon the cell type (Fig. 8). In nonlymphoid cells, CD46 constitutively internalizes from the cell surface via clathrin-coated pits, migrates to multivesicular bodies, and is recycled back to the cell surface (Pathway 1). However, cross-linking of CD46 at the cell surface can divert internalization to a different pathway, which is independent of clathrin-coated pits, leads to protein degradation, and resembles macropinocytosis (Pathway 2). This pathway occurs in nonlymphoid cells, as reported here, and probably in lymphoid cells, as shown by the efficient CD46 down-regulation previously observed in Jurkat cells incubated with L-H cells (26) (data not shown). These pathways have a number of implications for the biology of CD46.
CD46 and Antigen PresentationThe constitutive internalization and recycling observed here for CD46 (Pathway 1) is a common feature of proteins whose functions include either nutritional uptake (e.g. the transferrin receptor) or a sampling of the extracellular environment (e.g. monitoring of extracellular lipid levels by the low density lipoprotein receptor or providing extracellular proteins for antigen presentation by IgR (54)). The constitutive internalization of CD46 may be related to its role in the regulation of antigen presentation. The multivesicular bodies to which CD46 constitutively traffics are morphologically similar to the antigen loading compartment for Class I (and to some extent Class II) MHC (termed MIIC (55)). Interestingly, measles virus fusion protein has been localized with Class I MHC in the MIIC of a measles-infected B cell model system (56, 57), and CD46 cocaps with and has been copurified with Class I MHC (58), suggesting a physical association. Furthermore, the expression of CD46 can affect the processing of MHC-bound ligands, either by increasing the efficiency of presentation or by diverting peptides to presentation by Class II (1619, 21). However, the route of internalization may have a more complex impact upon presentation, since macropinocytosis can also enhance the presentation of antigen via MHC and can affect the choice of presentation via Class I or Class II (5961). The elucidation of two pathways for CD46 internalization provides a basis from which to dissect the influence of cross-linking on antigen presentation, by comparing the presentation of monomeric and multimeric ligands and comparing the effects of inhibitors of the two internalization pathways on antigen presentation. These data also suggest the possibility that CD46 plays a more general role in sampling the extracellular environment, perhaps providing complement-bound particles for presentation on MHC. Internalization and SignalingThe nature and extent of signaling through a cell surface receptor is often inextricably linked to the internalization characteristics of the receptor (62). For instance, signaling from many receptors is reduced by the internalization and subsequent degradation of the receptor, but the signaling of the extracellular growth factor receptor is facilitated by internalization into endosomes (63). Signaling through CD46 is induced by receptor cross-linking (via antibody, dimerized complement, and measles) (8, 11, 12) and therefore is likely to correlate with Pathway 2 observed here. The observation that this pathway leads to the down-regulation of CD46 suggests an intrinsic negative feedback mechanism that regulates CD46 signaling. Interestingly, the polarized macropinocytosis observed here and the morphological changes induced in T cells by CD46 signaling (7) are compatible with the observation that many of the proteins implicated in CD46 signaling are also involved in membrane trafficking and cell morphology (Vav, Rac, Cbl, Dlg) (7, 8, 45) and suggest that a major effect of CD46 signaling is to reorganize the cell shape. The lack of constitutive internalization of CD46 in lymphocytes is reminiscent of CD4, which is constitutively internalized and recycled to the cell surface in CD4-transfected nonlymphocyte cell lines and in monocytes and macrophages but is prevented from internalizing in many lymphocyte cell types by binding of p56lck (64, 65). During T cell activation, phosphorylation of CD4 allows dissociation of p56lck and internalization of the receptor (66). CD46 also associates with Src family kinases, including p56lck (67, 68), and it will be interesting to determine whether a similar mechanism controls the internalization of CD46.
CD46 as a Regulator of MacropinocytosisOur experiments show that the cross-linking of CD46 is not a cause of internalization, as might have previously been thought, but diverts CD46 to a different route of internalization. Pathway 2 involves the extension of membrane ruffles or pseudopodia, which enclose antibodies to CD46 into vesicles of We show that the down-regulation of CD46 correlates with the induction of Pathway 2 internalization and macropinocytosis. Down-regulation of CD46 can be induced by measles infection, measles hemagglutinin expressed on L cells, complement activation,2 polyclonal antibodies to CD46, and monoclonal antibodies when aggregated with a secondary antibody but not by monoclonal antibodies alone or "cross-linking" antibodies used at low concentrations to prevent aggregation (see Refs. 24 and 26, and see above).2 The molecular events involved in the internalization of CD46 have primarily been defined here using antibodies so that the valence of binding can be controlled, and these experiments indicate that down-regulation of CD46 is caused by an aggregation-dependent redirection of CD46 trafficking. Thus, either an intact measles virus (containing many hemagglutinin molecules which are tetrameric (71)) or a complement-opsonized particle would replicate the aggregation triggered by cross-linked antibody and induce Pathway 2. This may facilitate engulfment of these particles. Indeed, we show here that measles virus can induce similar extensions of pseudopodia in CD46-expressing cells, which provides an opportunity for ingestion. Although MV infection of host cell proceeds from the fusion of the virus envelope with the plasma membrane at neutral pH, it can be inferred from these data that MV particles may also enter cells during macropinocytosis.
The pseudopodia triggered by 1840 cross-linking and incubation with measles virus are morphologically similar to those triggered by the binding of N. meningitides pili to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (72). The ErbB2 receptor is necessary, but not sufficient, for the induction of pseudopodia after Neisseria binding (73). CD46 can bind to the pili of N. meningitides (3) and facilitate transmission across the blood-brain barrier (74). Our data suggest that CD46 might facilitate the internalization of Neisseria by macropinocytosis. Thus, it is possible that CD46 can trigger the internalization of small multivalent particles but must cooperate with other receptors to allow the internalization of larger multivalent particles. The induction of pseudopodia may enhance the attachment of Neisseria to cells, thus explaining the loss of adherence when the cytoplasmic domain of CD46 is deleted (75). The effect of cross-linking CD46 on attachment and ingestion can now be determined using CD46-specific antibodies coupled to different sized beads. Nevertheless, it is clear from these studies that CD46 cross-linking induces a dramatic change in the mechanism by which the receptor is internalized and that this change correlates with the down-regulation of CD46. The studies described here show that CD46 can be internalized by two alternative mechanisms, utilizing either clathrin-coated pits or macropinocytosis. The different fate of CD46 internalized via each pathway is likely to influence antigen presentation of CD46-internalized ligands, complement regulation (by affecting CD46 expression at the cell surface), and signal transduction through CD46. Furthermore, these investigations suggest for the first time a role for CD46 in mediating the engulfment of pathogens or complement-bound particles.
* The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
** Supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Howard Florey Centenary Research Fellowship.
1 The abbreviations used are: MHC, major histocompatibility complex; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; PE, phycoerythrin; EGFP, enhanced green fluorescent protein; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; CHO, Chinese hamster ovary.
2 S. M. Russell, unpublished data.
We thank Ricky Johnstone (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia), Tsakasa Seya (Osaka, Japan), and Bae-Li Hsi (Nice, France) for the Pgp, M177, and GB24 antibodies, respectively, and Manuela Palatsides and Caroline Farelly for technical assistance.
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