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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 32, 29169-29175, August 12, 2005
The Apical Targeting Signal of the P2Y2 Receptor Is Located in Its First Extracellular Loop*![]() From the Department of Pharmacology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7365
Received for publication, February 3, 2005 , and in revised form, May 19, 2005.
P2Y2 and P2Y4 receptors, which have 52% sequence identity, are both expressed at the apical membrane of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, but the locations of their apical targeting signals are distinctly different. The targeting signal of the P2Y2 receptor is located between the N terminus and 7TM, whereas that of the P2Y4 receptor is present in its C-terminal tail. To identify the apical targeting signal in the P2Y2 receptor, regions of the P2Y2 receptor were progressively substituted with the corresponding regions of the P2Y4 receptor lacking its targeting signal. Characterization of these chimeras and subsequent mutational analysis revealed that four amino acids (Arg95, Gly96, Asp97, and Leu108) in the first extracellular loop play a major role in apical targeting of the P2Y2 receptor. Mutation of RGD to RGE had no effect on P2Y2 receptor targeting, indicating that receptor-integrin interactions are not involved in apical targeting. P2Y2 receptor mutants were localized in a similar manner in Caco-2 colon epithelial cells. This is the first identification of an extracellular protein-based targeting signal in a seven-transmembrane receptor.
Extracellular nucleotides play an important role in a broad range of physiological and pathophysiological processes through two classes of receptors, the ligand-gated P2X receptors and the G protein-coupled P2Y receptors (1, 2). To date, pharmacological characterization and molecular cloning have identified seven P2X receptors (P2X17) and eight P2Y receptor subtypes (P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, P2Y11, P2Y12, P2Y13, and P2Y14). The P2Y receptors can be divided into two main subfamilies based on sequence identity and phylogenetic considerations: the P2Y1 receptor subfamily, which is comprised of P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, and P2Y11 receptors, and the P2Y12 receptor subfamily, comprising P2Y12, P2Y13, and P2Y14 receptors. The P2Y1 receptor subfamily is coupled to activation of phospholipase C, generation of inositol phosphates, activation of protein kinase C, and mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ stores. In addition to coupling to activation of phospholipase C, the P2Y11 receptor is also coupled to Gs, thereby activating adenylyl cyclase (35). In contrast, the three members of the P2Y12 receptor subfamily couple to Gi/o and therefore inhibit adenylyl cyclase (68). Although P2Y receptors mediate a multitude of cellular responses throughout the body, one of their main functions is to regulate ion transport in polarized epithelial cells. Proteins in polarized epithelial cells can be expressed predominantly at either the apical or basolateral membrane surface, or they can be indiscriminatingly distributed to both membranes. The proper targeting of proteins to their respective membrane surface is critical in host defense, nutrient absorption, ion transport, and signal transduction. However, the mechanism(s) by which epithelial cells target proteins to a particular membrane surface remains a critical question in epithelial cell biology. Alterations in the trafficking and targeting of proteins are often associated with diseases (911). For example, cystic fibrosis, an autosomal recessive disease of the epithelia, is caused primarily by mutations that prevent expression of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator at the plasma membrane (1214). This defect in cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator trafficking results in decreased Cl- transport and water secretion, increased Na+ absorption, and thickening of the mucous layer. The impairments caused by defective trafficking of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator can be alleviated acutely by activation of the P2Y2 receptor (1517). The P2Y2 receptor is expressed in airway epithelial cells, and activation of this receptor from the apical surface increases Cl- secretion and H2O efflux through a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-independent mechanism (17), while at the same time decreasing Na+ absorption by inhibiting epithelial sodium channels (18). Moreover, P2Y2 receptor activation increases mucous secretion and ciliary beat frequency (19). Thus, activation of the P2Y2 receptor facilitates mucociliary clearance and is an important therapeutic target for treatment of cystic fibrosis and other diseases of epithelia (20). We have recently demonstrated by confocal microscopy that the P2Y2 receptor is targeted to the apical membrane in epithelial cells of multiple lineages (21), and this localization is consistent with pharmacological studies of the receptor in epithelial cell lines (22, 23). Proteins are targeted to a particular membrane surface because they contain a signal within their primary sequence that is recognized by the cell. To reveal the location of the apical sorting signal of the P2Y2 receptor, we utilized a chimeric receptor approach with the P2Y4 receptor, which shares high sequence identity with the P2Y2 receptor but achieves apical targeting by harboring an apical signal in its C-terminal tail. We show here that the apical targeting signal in the P2Y2 receptor resides in its first extracellular loop and that four amino acids within this loop play a major role in directing apical targeting. This is the first report of an extracellular protein domain involved in apical targeting.
Construction of Chimeric and Mutant P2Y2 and P2Y4 Receptor cDNAsChimeric and mutant receptor cDNA constructs were generated by overlap extension PCR (24) using Pfu polymerase (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) and primers that incorporated an EcoRI restriction site at the 5'-end and a XhoI site at the 3'-end of the coding sequence. Truncated P2Y receptor constructs were generated by PCR with the same 5' primers described above and 3' primers that engineered a stop codon directly after the truncation site, followed by a XhoI site for cloning into pLXSN. P2Y2 and P2Y4 receptors were truncated at Arg315 and Tyr313, respectively. For the BK2 receptor fusions, Phe316 of the P2Y2 receptor and Asp311 of the P2Y4 receptor were fused after Arg313 of the BK2 receptor. All receptor constructs were digested with EcoRI and XhoI and ligated into similarly digested pLXSN retroviral expression vectors. In addition, each of the cloned receptors harbored an HA1-epitope tag (YPYDVPDY) following the initiating methionine residue. Previous studies have shown that the presence of an HA epitope at the N terminus of the P2Y2 receptor has no effect on its function (25).
Expression of Receptor Constructs in MDCK(II), 1321N1, and Caco-2 CellsMDCK(II) (ATCC, Rockville, Maryland) cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/F-12 (1:1) medium, Caco-2 cells in Earle's minimal essential medium with non-essential amino acids, and 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/high glucose medium. The culture medium was supplemented with either 5% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, Gaithersburg, MD) for MDCK and 1321N1 cells or 20% fetal bovine serum for Caco-2 cells. Recombinant retrovirus particles were produced by calcium phosphate-mediated transfection of PA317 cells with the pLXSN vector containing the various receptor constructs, and the resultant viral particles were used to infect both MDCK(II) and 1321N1 cells (26). Geneticin-resistant cells were selected after 710 days with 0.6 mg ml-1 G418 and maintained in medium containing 0.4 mg ml-1 active G-418. Confocal MicroscopyMDCK(II) and Caco-2 cells stably expressing HA-tagged receptor constructs were seeded in 12-mm polyester Transwell inserts (Corning Life Sciences, Acton, MA) and allowed to polarize for 7 days with daily medium changes. Cell monolayers were then washed with cold PBS2+ (containing 2 mM Ca2+ and Mg2+), fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde for 30 min at 4 °C, and then permeabilized with -20 °C methanol for 1 min. Receptors were labeled with the anti-HA mouse monoclonal antibody HA.11 (Covance, Berkeley, CA) and the tight-junction protein complex was labeled with anti-ZO-1 rabbit polyclonal antibody (Zymed Laboratories Inc., South San Francisco, CA). Cells were washed 3 times with cold PBS2+ and labeled with goat anti-mouse A-488 (HA epitope) and goat anti-rabbit A-594 (ZO-1) secondary fluorescent antibodies (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). Following three more washes with cold PBS2+, the Transwell filters containing the labeled and fixed monolayers were excised and mounted on glass microscope slides with Slowfade mounting medium (Molecular Probes). Confocal microscopy was performed with an Olympus Fluoview 300 laser scanning confocal imaging system (Melville, NY) configured with an IX70 Fluorescence microscope fitted with a PlanApo x60 oil objective. Two different views, an XY scan horizontal to the cell monolayer and an XZ scan vertical to the cell monolayer, were collected of all labeled monolayers to determine the steady-state localization of the receptor constructs. Representative results are shown for each construct. Quantification of Cell Surface Expression of HA-tagged P2Y ReceptorsMDCK(II) cells stably expressing HA-tagged P2Y receptors were seeded in duplicate in 24-mm Transwell inserts and allowed to polarize as described above. Monolayers were placed on ice and kept at 4 °C for the duration of the experiment. Cells were washed with cold PBS2+ three times for 5 min each, and then labeled with 1 mg/ml Sulfo-NHS-SS-Biotin (Pierce) in cold PBS2+ buffer, pH 8, for 40 min. The biotin solution was removed and the reaction quenched with 100 mM glycine in PBS2+ for 10 min. The cells were washed with PBS2+ and then incubated for 5 min with 0.7 ml of Tris-Triton buffer (50 mM Tris·HCl, pH 7.4, 100 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA, 1% Triton X-100) containing a protease inhibitor mixture. The cells were passed 710 times through a 25-gauge needle and then incubated for 1.5 h with rocking. The cell lysate was centrifuged at 20,000 x g for 30 min and the supernatant incubated with 50 ml of immobilized Neutravidin (Pierce) for 1.5 h. The resin was washed twice with Tris-Triton buffer and biotin-labeled proteins were eluted from the Neutravidin resin by incubating with 35 ml of SDS-PAGE sample buffer containing 100 mM dithiothreitol for 10 min at 37 °C. The dithiothreitol cleaves the disulfide bond within the biotin spacer and releases the proteins from Neutravidin under mild conditions. Eluted proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE on a 10% gel and transferred overnight to polyvinylidene fluoride membranes. Membranes were blocked with 5% nonfat dry milk in PBS2+ for 1 h, then incubated with anti-HA monoclonal antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (3F10; Roche Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN). The blots were developed with SuperSignal West Pico chemiluminescent substrate (Pierce) and the resulting bands were imaged on a Bio-Rad Flour-S system and quantitated with Bio-Rad QuantityOne software (Bio-Rad). The % distribution values (based on the total protein expressed at the cell surface equaling 100%) reported in the text and figures represent the average of three independent experiments. The standard errors were <5% of the mean.
Radioimmunoassay for Detection of HA-tagged Receptors1321N1 cells stably expressing HA-tagged P2Y2/P2Y4 chimeras were seeded at 105 cells/well in a 24-well plate. The expression of receptor chimeras was quantitated on confluent cells ( Intracellular [Ca2+] MeasurementsAgonist-promoted increases in intracellular [Ca2+] were quantified under constant superfusion in 1321N1 cells stably expressing HA-tagged P2Y2/P2Y4 chimeras as described previously (27). UTP (100 µM) was applied for 30 s in the superfusate (1.4 ml/min) and increases in intracellular [Ca2+] were measured in 613 individual cells per coverslip. To avoid receptor desensitization, each coverslip was challenged with UTP only once. The average responses from 6 to 13 cells per coverslip were measured from three coverslips. Data were recorded and processed using an InCyt IM2 digital imaging system (Intracellular Imaging Inc., Cincinnati, OH). Assay of Inositol Phosphate Accumulation1321N1 human astrocytoma cells stably expressing the P2Y2 receptor constructs were seeded in 24-well plates at 1 x 105 cells/well and assayed 3 days later when confluent. Inositol lipids were radiolabeled by incubating the cells with 200 µl of serum-free, inositol-free DMEM containing 0.4 mCi of myo-[3H]inositol. UTP was added at 5x concentration in 50 ml of 50 mM LiCl, 250 mM HEPES, pH 7.25. Following a 5-min incubation at 37 °C, the medium was aspirated and the reaction was terminated by adding 0.75 ml boiling EDTA, pH 8.0. [3H]Inositol phosphates were resolved on Dowex AG1-X8 columns as described (5).
Role of the C-terminal Tail in the Apical Targeting of P2Y2 and P2Y4 ReceptorsWe have shown previously that the P2Y2 receptor, when expressed in MDCK(II) epithelial cells, is located exclusively at the apical membrane at steady state (21) (Fig. 1A). To determine the location of the signal that directs apical targeting, we first examined the targeting of the P2Y2 receptor missing its C-terminal tail and the B2-bradykinin receptor in which its C-terminal tail was replaced by the C-tail of the P2Y2 receptor. We focused on the C-terminal tail because several 7TM receptors, including rhodopsin (28), three peptide hormone receptors (thyroid stimulating hormone, leutinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone receptors) (2931), and the P2Y1 receptor,2 achieve polarized expression because of sequences within their C-terminal tails. As shown in Fig. 1A, both the full-length P2Y2 receptor and the receptor missing its C-tail (P2Y2- CT) were expressed exclusively at the apical membrane of MDCK(II) cells. Moreover, replacement of the C-terminal tail of the B2-bradykinin (BK2) receptor, which is unsorted in MDCK(II) cells, with the C-terminal tail of the P2Y2 receptor had no effect on targeting (Fig. 1B). These data, which were confirmed in biotinylation experiments (Fig. 1C), demonstrated that the P2Y2 receptor contains an apical targeting signal within the region comprising the N terminus through TM7.
The P2Y4 receptor, which has the highest sequence identity to the P2Y2 receptor of all the members in the P2Y receptor family, is also expressed at the apical membrane of MDCK(II) cells (21) (Fig. 1A). In contrast to the P2Y2 receptor, however, the P2Y4 receptor missing its C-terminal tail (P2Y4- CT) was unsorted, whereas the BK2 receptor containing the C-terminal tail of the P2Y4 receptor was expressed at the apical membrane (Fig. 1, A and B). Importantly, the BK2 receptor missing its C-terminal tail was unsorted (data not shown), confirming that the apical location of the BK2-P2Y4 CT receptor was due to the addition of the P2Y4 C-terminal tail and not to the uncovering of a cryptic apical signal in the BK2 receptor missing its C-terminal tail. The localization of these receptors identified by confocal microscopy was also verified by biotinylation (Fig. 1C). These data demonstrated that the P2Y4 receptor, although highly homologous to the P2Y2 receptor, achieves apical targeting by a different mechanism, by having an apical targeting signal in its C-terminal tail. A more in depth characterization of the P2Y4 receptor apical targeting signal will be reported in a separate study.
Characterization of P2Y2/P2Y4-
To exclude the possibility that these chimeric receptors might be non-functional and therefore show aberrant targeting, we expressed the P2Y2/P2Y4-
The first three P2Y2/P2Y4-
Identification of the Amino Acids in the P2Y2 Receptor Involved in Apical TargetingThere are nine amino acid differences in EL1 and TM3 between the P2Y2 and P2Y4 receptor, seven of which are located within EL1 (Fig. 3A). To determine which of these amino acids are critical for apical targeting, we mutated the full-length P2Y2 receptor, three amino acids at a time, to the corresponding residues of the P2Y4 receptor. The mutant receptors (Arg95-Gly96-Asp97
Further elaboration of the two triple mutant receptors was accomplished by making six individual mutations in the full-length P2Y2 receptor, again to the corresponding residue in the P2Y4 receptor. As shown in Fig. 3C, mutation of Arg95, Gly96, Asp97, or Leu108 resulted in an unsorted phenotype, with 3036% of the receptors localized to the basolateral surface, whereas mutation of Ile121 (14% basolateral) and Thr115 (6% basolateral) had little to no effect on targeting. Taken together, these data identify four amino acids that play a critical role in apical targeting of the P2Y2 receptor.
The Role of Integrins in Apical Targeting of the P2Y2 ReceptorThe RGD triad is a well known integrin-binding motif (33), and the Targeting of P2Y2 Receptor Mutants in Human Caco-2 Epithelial CellsWe showed previously that the Gq-coupled P2Y receptors, including the P2Y2 receptor, are targeted in a similar fashion in MDCK and Caco-2 epithelial cells (21). To confirm that the amino acids involved in targeting of the P2Y2 receptor function in an identical manner in other epithelial cells, we expressed in Caco-2 cells the wild-type P2Y2 receptor and the four mutants (R95A, G96H, D97N, and L108F) that disrupt targeting in MDCK cells (Fig. 3C), and examined their steadystate distribution by confocal microscopy. As in MDCK cells, the wild-type P2Y2 receptor in Caco-2 cells was targeted to the apical membrane, whereas the four mutant receptors were non-sorted (Fig. 5). Thus, these amino acids likely utilize identical mechanisms to promote apical targeting in two different epithelial cell lines.
Functional Activities of P2Y2 Receptor MutantsA potential caveat to our mutational analysis was that the mutations might result in non-functional receptors and cause aberrant targeting. To test the functional activity of our P2Y2 receptor mutants, we expressed each receptor in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells and generated concentration-effect curves for UTP-promoted [3H]inositol phosphate accumulation. As shown in Fig. 6, each of the receptor mutants, with the exception of the RGD
Sorting signals for apically targeted membrane proteins are relatively diverse. These signals include glycophosphatidylinositol anchoring, N- and O-linked glycosylation, PDZ-binding motifs, intracellular motifs, and even transmembrane domains (9, 35, 36). To determine the identity and location of the sorting signal for the P2Y2 receptor, we utilized chimeras between P2Y2 and P2Y4 receptors, which have high homology but contain apical sorting signals in distinct regions, and P2Y2 receptors with point mutations. These mutant receptor constructs, with few exceptions, were expressed at the cell surface at wild type levels and were fully active, eliminating concern that mistargeting was due to the receptor being non-functional or misfolded. We showed that the P2Y2 receptor achieves apical targeting at least in part by sequences in EL1. In particular, four amino acids (Arg95, Gly96, Asp97, and Leu108) within EL1 appear to be critical in apical targeting, as mutation of these residues to their counterparts in the P2Y4 receptor resulted in an unsorted distribution in MDCK(II) cells. Thus, the present study increases the diversity of apical signals by showing that an extracellular protein sequence also can function as a targeting signal. This is also one of a few studies to focus on the targeting signals directing polarized sorting of 7TM receptors. In fact, targeting signals have being identified and characterized in only six 7-TM receptors. These include rhodopsin and 5-HT1B receptors, which contain an apical targeting signal in their C-terminal tails, three hormone receptors (the thyrotropin, lutenizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone receptors), which contain a basolateral targeting signal in their C-terminal tails, and the M3-muscarinic receptor, which contains a basolateral targeting signal in its 3rd intracellular loop (28, 31, 37, 38). A recent study with P2Y receptors demonstrated that 7 of the 8 P2Y receptors (P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, P2Y11, P2Y12, and P2Y14) show a polarized distribution in kidney, lung, and colon epithelial cells (21). These data suggest that the seven polarized receptors harbor targeting signals that direct localization to one of the two distinct membrane surfaces in epithelial cells. Thus, in addition to the P2Y2 receptor, other P2Y receptors may provide considerable new insight regarding the location and identity of targeting signals in 7TM receptors.
Demonstration of a sorting signal in the C-terminal tail of a 7TM receptor is relatively straightforward. For example, by examining the membrane localization of the P2Y4 receptor missing its C-terminal tail and the normally unsorted BK2 receptor in which its C-terminal tail was replaced with the C-terminal tail of the P2Y4 receptor, we illustrated with high confidence that the C-terminal tail of the P2Y4 receptor directs apical targeting (Fig. 1). In contrast, the P2Y2 receptor achieves apical targeting via a targeting signal located between the N terminus and the end of the 7TM (Fig. 1). This region is critically involved in receptor function, stability, cell surface expression and/or proper folding, and therefore, identification of an "internal" targeting sequence is difficult by standard techniques. Indeed, an exhaustive search for the basolateral targeting sequence of the 2A adrenergic receptor failed to identify a particular sequence or region involved in targeting (39). To circumvent these constraints, we took advantage of the high homology between the P2Y2 and P2Y4 receptors (52% identity) and the distinct mechanisms by which they reach the apical surface to identify a unique apical targeting signal in EL1 of the P2Y2 receptor.
We have identified residues in EL1 of the P2Y2 receptor that are involved in apical targeting. However, it is not clear whether the entire signal is contained within EL1 or whether other regions of the receptor are also involved. We addressed this question by constructing a chimera of the P2Y4- CT receptor that contained EL1 of the P2Y2 receptor, in an attempt to make a "gain-of-function" mutant. Unfortunately, this chimera was not expressed at the cell surface (data not shown) and further investigation was not pursued. Interestingly, the apical signal is located near Cys106, which forms a disulfide bond with Cys183 in EL2 that is critical for cell surface expression in the P2Y1 (40), -adrenergic (41), and many other receptors.
The Arg95-Gly96-Asp97 sequence, which we have shown is clearly involved in apical targeting of the P2Y2 receptor, is also a well known integrin-binding motif (33). In epithelial cells, most integrins are
All of the receptors examined showed similar EC50 values for UTP-promoted [3H]inositol phosphate accumulation with the exception of the RGD The observation that the protein trafficking machinery recognizes an extracellular targeting signal in the P2Y2 receptor is difficult to reconcile with the concept that once the receptor is synthesized, the signal becomes inaccessible to cytoplasmic components. Schuck and Simons (35) have proposed that apical expression is driven at least in part by the propensity of a protein to reside within lipid rafts that are abundant in the apical membrane. In addition, oligomerization was suggested to increase the affinity of proteins for lipid rafts, thus also implicating oligomerization domains in apical targeting. However, in the three-dimensional structure of rhodopsin (47), EL1 folds into the center of the receptor and forms a disulfide linkage with EL2. Very little of EL1 is exposed at the outer surface of the receptor, which would make it unavailable for interaction with lipids or other receptors. Thus, although it is conceivable that lipid raft association or oligomerization underlies apical targeting, our results are more consistent with a co-translational sorting mechanism as a means by which the P2Y2 receptor reaches the apical membrane. Current studies are focused on whether the P2Y2 receptor is sorted intracellularly and delivered directly to the apical surface or whether delivery of the receptor to both membrane surfaces, coupled with an increased stability at the apical membrane, underlies its steady-state apical expression.
* This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant R01 HL71131 (to R. A. N.). 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.
1 The abbreviations used are: HA, hemagglutinin; 7TM, seven transmembrane; BK2, bradykinin 2 receptor; EL1 and EL2, 1st and 2nd extracellular loop respectively; P2Y2-
2 S. C. Wolff, A.-D. Qi, and R. A. Nicholas, manuscript in preparation.
We thank Ken Harden for enthusiastic support, advice, and critical reading of the manuscript. We also acknowledge JoAnn Trejo and members of the Trejo and Harden labs for many comments and suggestions. Many thanks to Izabela Naruszewicz and Desiree Germain for excellent technical support.
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