(Received for publication, August 13, 1996, and in revised form, December 27, 1996)
From the We have used systematic mutational analysis to
identify signals in the 166-residue murine cation-independent
mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor cytoplasmic
domain required for efficient sorting of lysosomal enzymes. Alanine
cluster mutagenesis on all conserved residues apart from the
endocytosis signal demonstrates that the major sorting determinant is a
conserved casein kinase II site followed by a dileucine motif
(157DDSDEDLL164). Small deletions or additions
outside this region have severe to mild effects, indicating that
context is important. Single residue mutagenesis indicates that cycles
of serine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation are not obligatory for
sorting. In addition, the two leucine residues and four of the five
negatively charged residues can readily tolerate conservative
substitutions. In contrast, aspartate 160 could not tolerate
isoelectric or isosteric substitutions, implicating it as a critical
component of the sorting signal.
An important question in cell biology is how itinerant proteins
are properly routed between different intracellular compartments. One
particularly interesting example is the cation-independent mannose
6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor
(M6P/IGF2R),1 which mediates targeting of
lysosomal enzymes by two distinct pathways (reviewed in Refs. 1 and 2).
In one pathway, the receptor functions in endocytosis of extracellular
ligands. In the other, the receptor functions in the direct
intracellular targeting of newly synthesized lysosomal enzymes
("sorting"). There are multiple molecular events that occur in each
transport pathway. Like many other endocytic receptors, M6P/IGF2Rs at
the cell surface bind ligands, cluster into clathrin-coated transport vesicles, and travel to an acidic prelysosomal compartment. However, unlike most other receptors, in the intracellular targeting pathway, M6P/IGF2Rs in the Golgi apparatus bind newly synthesized mannose 6-phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes, cluster into clathrin-coated transport vesicles, and travel to an acidic prelysosomal compartment, where the endocytic and intracellular targeting pathways converge. Here, the low pH promotes dissociation of the receptor-ligand complex,
and the free receptors recycle back to the plasma membrane or Golgi
apparatus to function in additional rounds of targeting.
As a step toward understanding the biochemical mechanisms underlying
these processes, we are characterizing the determinants on the
M6P/IGF2R important for intracellular trafficking. The mature murine
receptor has an amino-terminal 2270-residue extracytoplasmic domain, a
single 23-residue membrane-spanning region, and a 166-residue carboxyl-terminal cytoplasmic domain. While some targeting information may reside in the extracytoplasmic region (3, 4), the cytoplasmic domain contains determinants required for both endocytosis and sorting.
Like many other endocytic receptors, rapid internalization of the
M6P/IGF2R requires a tyrosine-based motif. This determinant is located
in the first 30 residues of the cytoplasmic domain and has been
extensively characterized (5-7). In contrast, the determinants
required for sorting are less well understood, but at least in part
require residues located in the C-terminal region of the
cytoplasmic domain (5, 8, 9).
In a previous study (8), we found that the cytoplasmic sorting signals
are conserved among bovine, human, and murine M6P/IGF2Rs, and a
consensus casein kinase II site followed by two leucines near the C
terminus is important for sorting. However, the cytoplasmic domain
contains multiple other conserved sequences that may be important,
including a second consensus casein kinase II site followed by valine
and leucine. In this study, we have systematically analyzed the
function of the conserved residues of the M6P/IGF2R and extensively
characterized the key sorting signal.
Enzymes used in molecular cloning were obtained
from New England Biolabs Inc., Life Technologies, Inc., or Stratagene.
Geneticin (G418) was obtained from Life Technologies, Inc.
Na125I (NEZ-033A; ~17 Ci/mg) was from DuPont NEN.
Monoclonal antibodies DM32g and DM86f7, which recognize different
epitopes on the extracellular domain of the bovine M6P/IGF2R, were
generous gifts from Dr. D. Messner (University of Rochester Medical
School). Fetal bovine serum (FBS) was obtained from Hyclone
Laboratories and was heat-inactivated prior to use. M6P/IGF2R-depleted
FBS was prepared as described previously (10). The mouse
L(Rec Hepes-buffered DMEM/Ham's F-12 medium
(DMEM/F-12) containing bicarbonate, without phenol red, was made from
DMEM/Ham's F-12 base (Sigma D9785) and other cell culture-grade
biochemicals (Sigma) according to the supplier's directions.
L(CIMPR The portions of the murine M6P/IGF2R used in
truncation mutants The details of the sorting assay have been
described previously (8). For each experiment, the same passage of
L(CIMPR Confluent cells in 24-well
plates were transferred to an ice-water bath and washed once with
ice-cold PBS. One set of duplicate wells were washed twice with
DMEM/F-12 and 10% M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS and then incubated with
~750 ng of monoclonal antibody DM86f (a mixture of ~106
cpm iodinated antibody and unlabeled antibody) in 0.3 ml of DMEM/F-12 and 10% M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS for 90 min. A second set of duplicate wells were treated identically, except the wash and incubation solutions contained 0.3% saponin. Cells were washed four times with
PBS and 1% bovine serum albumin and four times with PBS, solubilized
with 0.5 ml of 0.1 N NaOH, and counted in a Short-term internalization of
affinity-purified phosphorylated
Classification of Mutants
Mutant receptors were analyzed by evaluating their ability to
correct hypersecretion of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes from a mouse
L cell line that lacks endogenous M6P/IGF2R as described previously
(8). For each mutant, 8-15 stable transfectants were analyzed for
receptor levels and secretion of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes. High
concentrations of mannose 6-phosphate were included in the culture
medium to prevent indirect targeting through the endocytic pathway. In
addition, control experiments were performed to verify that even
severely impaired mutants folded properly as ascertained by their
intracellular distribution and ability to bind ligand and to function
in endocytosis.
This study is based on analysis of >1000 clonal cell lines generated
over the course of 10 independent experiments. In each experiment, up
to eight different mutants were transfected and analyzed in parallel
along with positive (wild-type receptor) and negative (selection marker
alone) controls. Examination of the positive controls indicates that
the secretion index (24-h secretion of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes
normalized to total cellular protein) decreases and plateaus with
increasing receptor expression (Fig. 1, left
panel). As an indication of the plateau value, we have selected,
from each experiment, the four clones that express the highest levels
of receptor. Comparison of the positive controls with all clones
expressing selection marker alone indicates that expression of
saturating levels of wild-type receptor decreases secretion of
lysosomal enzymes by a factor of 2 (Fig. 1, right
panel).
To help classify the effect of different mutations, we developed a
numerical index to compare the relative ability of a given construct
and the wild-type receptor to correct secretion of lysosomal enzymes
from the receptor-deficient cells. This index, the sorting efficiency
(E), is given by the expression Ex = (Sneo
Sorting efficiencies of the wild-type receptor and
mutants analyzed in this study
Center for Advanced Biotechnology and
Medicine, the § Graduate Program in Microbiology and
Molecular Genetics,
Department of
Pharmacology,
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
FOOTNOTES
Acknowledgments
REFERENCES
Materials
) cell line 13.2.1 overproducing human
-glucuronidase was kindly provided by Dr. W. Sly (St. Louis
University), and the phosphorylated form was purified as described (6).
Antibodies and
-glucuronidase were iodinated using soluble
lactoperoxidase as described (11).
)D9, a clonal derivative of a mouse
M6P/IGF2R-deficient L cell line (12), has been described previously
(8). Cells were routinely grown in DMEM/F-12 and 10% FBS at 37 °C
in 5% humidified CO2. Transfected cells were maintained in
the presence of 350 µg/ml (active concentration) G418. When assaying
for function of the receptor in lysosomal enzyme targeting, fresh
glutamine was added to glutamine-deficient medium to minimize
production of ammonia that may have lysosomotropic effects. For surface
distribution and internalization assays, frozen stocks were thawed and
expanded, and cells were plated at the same cell numbers and grown to
confluence prior to assay.
4,
13,
17, and
53 were synthesized using
the unidirectional nested deletion strategy described previously (8).
The other constructs were synthesized by oligonucleotide-directed (13) or polymerase chain reaction-mediated (14) mutagenesis. Sequences of
the oligonucleotide primers are compiled in Ref. 15. The template was
the previously described fragment of the murine M6P/IGF2R cytoplasmic
domain that contained 20 nucleotides of 3
-noncoding sequence (8).
Regions that went through single-stranded intermediates or had been
amplified by polymerase chain reaction were sequenced to confirm the
absence of adventitious changes. A BamHI-MluI
fragment containing the mutated sequence was ligated with a
6943-nucleotide EcoRI-partial BamHI fragment of
the bovine M6P/IGF2R and a 7.2-kilobase EcoRI-MluI fragment of the pSFFVneo expression
vector (16) modified to contain a 3
-MluI site (8) to
generate the final construct. The full-length receptor chimera
(referred to as the wild-type receptor) encodes the bovine signal
sequence (44 residues) and most of the bovine extracytoplasmic domain
(2221 residues) followed by murine sequences (45 residues of
extracytoplasmic domain and complete transmembrane and cytoplasmic
domains).
)D9 cells were thawed and transfected
in parallel with the pSV2neo selection marker, wild-type bovine/murine
M6P/IGF2R in pSFFVneo, and different receptor mutants in pSFFVneo.
Within 2 weeks after selection with G418, for each construct, 32-48
colonies were isolated using cloning cylinders and analyzed for
receptor expression and homogeneity by immunofluorescence. Select
clones were assayed for secretion of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes,
total cellular protein, and receptor levels. Representative clones were
expanded and frozen for later use.
-counter. The radioactivity associated with cells treated with and without 0.3%
saponin represents total and cell-surface receptor, respectively.
-glucuronidase was conducted using
a modification of the procedure described (6). Confluent cells in
12-well plates were transferred to an ice-water bath and sequentially
washed once with ice-cold PBS; once with DMEM/F-12, 5 mM
mannose 6-phosphate, and 10% M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS; and twice with
DMEM/F-12 and 10% M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS. Cells were incubated with
~2.5 × 106 cpm 125I-labeled
-glucuronidase in 0.5 ml of ice-cold DMEM/F-12 and 10%
M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS for 60 min. The radioactive
-glucuronidase was removed, and cells were washed four times with ice-cold PBS and 1%
bovine serum albumin and six times with PBS. To initiate endocytosis,
plates were placed in a 37 °C water bath, and 0.5 ml of 37 °C
DMEM/F-12 medium was added. At the indicated time points, the medium
was collected, and cell-surface
-glucuronidase was stripped using
0.5 ml of mannose 6-phosphate/trypsin solution at pH 5 (6). After 5 min, 0.5 ml of DMEM/F-12 and 10% M6P/IGF2R-depleted FBS was added, and
the mixture was transferred to 1.2-ml polypropylene tubes in 96-tube
carrier racks. The supernatants were collected after 5 min of
centrifugation at 800 × g. Cell pellets, stripped supernatants, and media were counted in a
-counter. Data in Fig. 9
are plotted as cell-associated radioactivity normalized to total counts
(pellet + stripped supernatant + medium, averaged over all time
points). Internalization rate constants were calculated using the 15-, 30-, 45-, and 60-s time points and are based on the amount of
radioactivity internalized over a given time interval, normalized to
the average surface counts at the beginning and end of the time
interval.
Fig. 9.
Effect of mutations on M6P/IGF2R
internalization. Cells were evaluated for their ability to
internalize prebound 125I-labeled -glucuronidase as
described under "Experimental Procedures." In each panel, the
different symbols represent analysis of individual clonal cell lines
expressing the indicated receptor construct and are the average of two
independent experiments. The endocytic rate constants (mean ± S.D.) for each clone analyzed are calculated as described under
"Experimental Procedures" and are given in units of
min
1: wild-type (WT) receptor, 0.61 ± 0.09, 0.74 ± 0.02, 0.66 ± 0.01;
4, 0.60 ± 0.19, 0.84 ± 0.12;
53, 0.63 ± 0.17, 0.44 ± 0.24;
79(+LLHI), 0.89 ± 0.02, 0.62 ± 0.06; AC01, 0.57 ± 0.15, 0.65 ± 0.04; AC02, 0.66 ± 0.01, 0.55 ± 0.09;
AC03, 0.44 ± 0.04; and Dd4, 0.010 ± 0.001.
[View Larger Version of this Image (25K GIF file)]
Fig. 1.
Parameters used for classification of mutant
receptors. Left panel, positive controls from 10 independent
transfection experiments are shown. Each experiment is represented by a
different symbol. Curve fitting was performed using a four-parameter
logistic regression program (Sigmaplot 3.0, Jandel Scientific).
Right panel, secretion indices of negative control cell
lines (open squares) and four positive control cell lines
containing the highest levels of receptor (open circles) are
shown for each experiment. Mean ± S.D. values are indicated by the
solid and dotted lines.
[View Larger Version of this Image (22K GIF file)]
Sx)/(Sneo
Swt), where
Sneo denotes the average secretion index of all
negative control clones, Sx denotes the average
secretion index for a given construct of the four clones containing the
highest receptor levels, and Swt denotes the
grand average secretion of the four positive control clones that
contain the highest level of receptor from each of the 10 experiments. Using this index, the sorting efficiency of the normal receptor determined in 10 independent experiments ranges from 0.77 to 1.18 (1.00 ± 0.12, mean ± S.D.) (Table I).
Initially, we classified mutants with sorting efficiencies above 0.76 as not significantly impaired (within 2 S.D. of the wild-type mean),
those with sorting efficiencies ranging from 0.64 to 0.76 as
borderline-impaired (falling between 2 and 3 S.D. below the mean), and
those with sorting efficiencies below 0.64 as impaired. As these
assignments utilize only a portion of the data and can be influenced by
individual clones that exhibit extreme variation, we also inspected the
individual scattergrams of secretion index plotted against receptor
levels to determine if the mutant appeared significantly different from the corresponding wild-type positive control.
Construct
Exp.
Sorting
efficiency
Secretion index
Receptor
10 × units/µg
ng/µg
Alanine cluster mutants
AC01
304
0.45 ± 0.14
9.37
± 0.83
0.44 ± 0.29
AC02
330
0.03
± 0.26
11.97 ± 1.60
0.81 ± 0.16
AC02
359
0.51 ± 0.10
9.01 ± 0.60
0.90
± 0.49
AC03
359
0.54 ± 0.25
8.83
± 1.55
0.15 ± 0.01
AC03
375
0.22
± 0.25
10.80 ± 1.50
0.41 ± 0.44
AC04
304
1.19 ± 0.22
4.86 ± 1.37
1.02
± 0.41
AC05
331
0.90 ± 0.21
6.63
± 1.31
0.53 ± 0.07
AC06
331
0.82
± 0.44
7.13 ± 2.72
0.25 ± 0.11
AC07
331
1.19 ± 0.10
4.83 ± 0.61
1.42
± 0.23
AC08
331
1.13 ± 0.07
5.25
± 0.44
0.60 ± 0.04
AC09
359
0.81
± 0.13
7.16 ± 0.82
0.38 ± 0.31
AC10
352
0.97 ± 0.05
6.22 ± 0.28
0.58
± 0.05
AC11
369
0.95 ± 0.06
6.33
± 0.36
1.06 ± 0.39
AC12
369
0.80
± 0.35
7.21 ± 2.13
0.57 ± 0.44
AC13
369
0.71 ± 0.72
7.79 ± 4.41
0.54
± 0.63
AC14
369
0.93 ± 0.39
6.46
± 2.41
0.63 ± 0.41
AC15
359
0.98
± 0.13
6.12 ± 0.80
0.71 ± 0.19
AC16
304
1.23 ± 0.03
4.60 ± 0.19
0.61
± 0.20
AC17
304
1.18 ± 0.03
4.90
± 0.21
0.45 ± 0.16
AC18
304
0.89
± 0.06
6.69 ± 0.39
0.21 ± 0.03
AC19
304
1.08 ± 0.09
5.56 ± 0.55
0.42
± 0.22
AC20
359
0.65 ± 0.13
8.13
± 0.79
0.42 ± 0.19
AC21
359
1.02
± 0.15
5.89 ± 0.93
1.11 ± 0.21
AC22
352
0.93 ± 0.14
6.46 ± 0.87
0.47
± 0.12
AC23
369
1.03 ± 0.13
5.86
± 0.78
0.92 ± 0.31
AC24
359
0.89
± 0.12
6.67 ± 0.73
0.77 ± 0.54
AC25
352
1.04 ± 0.05
5.78 ± 0.29
0.33
± 0.14
AC26
369
0.97 ± 0.08
6.22
± 0.46
0.79 ± 0.13
AC27
331
1.01
± 0.17
5.93 ± 1.06
0.60 ± 0.37
AC28
352
0.73 ± 0.17
7.67 ± 1.03
0.43
± 0.19
AC29
331
1.04 ± 0.12
5.76
± 0.74
0.64 ± 0.23
AC30
352
0.98
± 0.09
6.15 ± 0.55
0.41 ± 0.14
AC31
331
1.18 ± 0.14
4.95 ± 0.84
0.47
± 0.08
AC32
359
0.98 ± 0.18
6.17
± 1.13
0.61 ± 0.17
AC33
330
0.54
± 0.38
8.86 ± 2.35
0.32 ± 0.13
AC34
352
1.14 ± 0.06
5.14 ± 0.34
0.88
± 0.29
AC35
352
0.89 ± 0.13
6.68
± 0.82
0.24 ± 0.06
AC36
330
0.79
± 0.27
7.31 ± 1.65
0.71 ± 0.41
AC37
352
0.69 ± 0.11
7.92 ± 0.67
0.73
± 0.12
1KK2
AA
388
1.11
± 0.09
5.33 ± 0.53
0.72 ± 0.17
4RR5
AA
388
1.09 ± 0.07
5.45
± 0.42
0.91 ± 0.16
Deletion and insertion mutants
13
343
0.25 ± 0.13
10.60 ± 0.79
0.84
± 0.16
17
343
0.29 ± 0.20
10.36
± 1.21
0.81 ± 0.14
2
388
0.53
± 0.20
8.88 ± 1.23
0.81 ± 0.28
4
343
0.39 ± 0.22
9.77 ± 1.32
0.98
± 0.20
53
343
0.40 ± 0.14
9.69
± 0.84
0.85 ± 0.05
79(+LLHI)
388
0.44
± 0.17
9.42 ± 1.05
0.99 ± 0.44
LL(+AA)HI
388
0.86 ± 0.26
6.86 ± 1.58
0.96
± 0.27
LLHI(+A)
388
0.97 ± 0.10
6.20
± 0.61
1.09 ± 0.50
LLHI(+AAA)
388
0.61
± 0.07
8.41 ± 0.40
0.44 ± 0.20
Substitution
mutants
L164I
369
1.03 ± 0.44
5.82
± 2.72
0.59 ± 0.36
L163I
375
0.88
± 0.14
6.78 ± 0.89
0.84 ± 0.49
L163V
375
0.72 ± 0.06
7.75 ± 0.36
1.05
± 0.01
D162N
386
0.73 ± 0.09
7.69
± 0.53
0.58 ± 0.37
D162E
386
0.96
± 0.22
6.28 ± 1.36
0.44 ± 0.15
E161D
386
1.23 ± 0.10
4.64 ± 0.61
0.35
± 0.21
E161Q
386
0.43 ± 0.27
9.51
± 1.67
0.19 ± 0.02
D160E
386
0.30
± 0.13
10.30 ± 0.79
0.75 ± 0.20
D160N
386
0.31 ± 0.18
10.26 ± 1.12
0.62
± 0.13
S159A
386
0.64 ± 0.19
8.25
± 1.16
0.45 ± 0.09
S159C
375
0.78
± 0.13
7.39 ± 0.80
0.97 ± 0.23
S159D
375
1.15 ± 0.13
5.08 ± 0.80
1.07
± 0.21
S159E
375
0.99 ± 0.07
6.07
± 0.40
1.59 ± 0.24
S159T
375
0.89
± 0.13
6.67 ± 0.81
1.16 ± 0.25
D158E
386
1.20 ± 0.11
4.81 ± 0.70
0.68
± 0.31
D158N
375
1.03 ± 0.04
5.86
± 0.25
1.23 ± 0.25
D157E
386
1.13
± 0.06
5.25 ± 0.39
0.51 ± 0.14
D157N
375
0.92 ± 0.17
6.52 ± 1.03
1.32
± 0.30
Wild-type receptor
WT
304
1.18
± 0.18
4.89 ± 1.08
0.33 ± 0.16
WT
330
0.77 ± 0.16
7.40 ± 0.98
0.60
± 0.26
WT
331
0.90 ± 0.08
6.66
± 0.46
0.32 ± 0.16
WT
343
1.05
± 0.28
5.73 ± 1.74
0.45 ± 0.09
WT
352
0.96 ± 0.26
6.25 ± 1.58
0.40
± 0.13
WT
359
1.11 ± 0.12
5.36
± 0.73
0.57 ± 0.25
WT
369
1.03
± 0.18
5.81 ± 1.09
0.74 ± 0.25
WT
375
0.93 ± 0.25
6.46 ± 1.51
0.72
± 0.18
WT
386
0.94 ± 0.09
6.39
± 0.55
0.41 ± 0.03
WT
388
1.13
± 0.13
5.25 ± 0.82
0.67 ± 0.18
The C-terminal Region Contains a Major Sorting Determinant
To identify determinants on the cytoplasmic domain of the
M6P/IGF2R required for efficient intracellular sorting of lysosomal enzymes, we systematically mutated groups of conserved residues to
alanines (Fig. 2). Residues important for endocytosis
are known to impair sorting (5, 9), but were excluded from this
analysis as it is difficult to experimentally distinguish direct from
indirect effects, as discussed previously (8). Of the 37 alanine
cluster mutations analyzed, 29 had little or no effect on sorting
efficiency (Table I), and inspection of the scattergrams was consistent with this conclusion (see below and data not shown). (Scattergrams of
all constructs analyzed in this study are compiled in Ref. 15.)
We also classify AC13 as not significantly impaired, despite its having
a borderline sorting efficiency. For this mutant, at a given receptor
level, most of the clones function similarly to the positive controls
transfected and analyzed in parallel (Fig. 3, top
left panel). The apparently impaired sorting efficiency (E = 0.71 ± 0.72) can be attributed to high
secretion from a single clone, which, if dropped from the calculation,
would yield E = 1.07 ± 0.07.
The classification of AC33 as borderline-impaired is tentative. The impaired sorting efficiency index (E = 0.54 ± 0.38) can be partially ascribed to a paucity of clones that express relatively high levels of receptor, and at a given steady-state level of receptor, the majority of the AC33 clones function similarly to the corresponding wild-type controls (Fig. 3, middle right panel). At present, we cannot tell if the low level of expression was idiosyncratic to this experiment or represents a significant trend. However, it is worth noting that the AC33 mutation eliminates a pair of conserved cysteine residues that are likely to be palmitoylated (17), and mutation of a palmitoylated cysteine in the 67-residue cytoplasmic domain of the cation-dependent mannose 6-phosphate receptor decreases the half-life and impairs the function of this receptor (18, 19). While it is clear that the AC33 construct can partially correct secretion of lysosomal enzymes, further study is required to determine the functional significance of this region.
Three additional mutants are classified as borderline-impaired (AC20, E = 0.65 ± 0.13; AC28, E = 0.73 ± 0.17; and AC37, E = 0.69 ± 0.11). This assignment is supported by inspection of the scattergrams (Fig. 3): while increased expression of each construct partially corrects secretion of lysosomal enzymes, most clones exhibit higher secretion compared with clones containing similar levels of wild-type receptor. The AC20 mutation changes 74LSS76 to alanine; the AC28 mutation changes 40TEWL43 to alanine. These regions have not yet been further dissected to determine which side chains are important for sorting. The AC37 mutation eliminates four positive charges in the juxtamembrane region of the cytoplasmic domain (1KKERR5 changed to 1AAEAA5). To investigate this region further, we analyzed two mutants in which either two lysines or two arginines in this region were replaced with alanines. Neither mutant was markedly different compared with the normal receptor (Fig. 3 (bottom right panel) and Table I). It is noteworthy that these residues are part of a consensus stop transfer sequence found on many other membrane proteins (20). Thus, the positively charged cluster may be important for correct positioning of the cytoplasmic domain with respect to the membrane rather than being part of the sorting signal per se.
Three impaired mutants encompass the last 12 amino acids of the
166-residue cytoplasmic domain (AC01, AC02, and AC03) (Fig. 4). AC01 and AC02 are clearly impaired as judged from
their sorting efficiencies and inspection of the scattergrams. For
AC03, in the course of five independent transfection experiments using two different constructs encoding the same amino acid changes, almost
all clones isolated contained low levels of receptor. The two
experiments shown (Fig. 4 (bottom left panel) and Table I) represent the highest receptor levels found, and here, the individual clones containing medium (0.28 ng/µg) and high (1.06 ng/µg, plotted on the right axis) levels of receptor are impaired.
These findings are in good agreement with our previous findings (8), where alanine scanning of the C-terminal 14 residues revealed that the consensus casein kinase II site followed by two leucines (157DDSDEDLL164) is important. A second sequence that contains a consensus casein kinase II site followed by two hydrophobic residues (80DDQDSEDEVL89) occurs in the middle of the cytoplasmic domain, and both casein kinase II sites are phosphorylated in vivo (21-23). However, this internal sequence is not required for efficient lysosomal enzyme sorting as the three alanine cluster mutants that span residues 80-91 are all indistinguishable from the wild-type receptor (Fig. 4, bottom right panel). Taken together, these results indicate that most of the cytoplasmic domain is replaceable, and with the possible exception of the tyrosine-based internalization signal, the C-terminal region of the receptor contains the major determinant for lysosomal enzyme sorting.
Positional Effects on the C-terminal Sorting Signal
To further investigate the C-terminal sorting signal, we created a
series of deletion and insertion mutants. In our previous study (8),
alanine substitution of either His-165 or Ile-166 had no effect on
receptor function, while mutations of upstream residues had marked
effects. Interestingly, deletion of the C-terminal two residues clearly
impaired receptor function (E = 0.53 ± 0.20) (Fig. 5, top right panel). The sorting
efficiency of this mutant was only slightly higher than that of
constructs containing deletions of the C-terminal 4, 13, 17, or 53 residues (representative scattergrams in Fig. 5 (top left
panel) and Table I). The C terminus was extended by insertion of
two alanines between Leu-164 and His-165 (construct LL(+AA)HI). Despite
the nearly normal sorting efficiency (E = 0.86 ± 0.26), this mutation may have a modest effect on receptor function in
sorting: while two clones containing high levels (1.01 and 1.36 ng/µg) appear normal, most clones had higher secretion indices than
clones containing equivalent levels of the wild-type receptor (Fig. 5,
bottom left panel). Addition of three alanines to the C
terminus clearly impaired sorting (LLHI(+AAA), E = 0.61 ± 0.07), while addition of one alanine had little effect
(LLHI(+A), E = 0.97 ± 0.10) (Fig. 5, bottom
right panel). These results suggest that the precise distance of
the C-terminal carboxylate from the sorting signal is not critical;
rather, downstream residues are important for proper presentation of
the determinant.
Given the similarity between the two casein kinase II sites of the
receptor, it is possible that if presented in a different context, the
internal casein kinase II site could be converted into a functional
sorting signal. To test this hypothesis, we deleted an internal
fragment of the cytoplasmic domain (residues 88-162) to produce the
mutant 79(+LLHI), which had the C-terminal sequence
80DDQDSEDELLHI91. This mutant was clearly
impaired in sorting (Fig. 5, top right panel), indicating
that either spacing or other specific features of the normal C-terminal
signal (see below) are required for efficient function in sorting.
Dissection of the C-terminal Sorting Signal
The major sorting determinant of the M6P/IGF2R contains two
features of potential functional significance. First, the region contains two adjacent leucines, and dileucine motifs are putative signals for intracellular trafficking of proteins. Second, the serine
and surrounding acidic cluster form an almost perfect consensus casein
kinase II site (24), which has been shown to be phosphorylated in
vivo (21-23). To dissect the key features of this region, we conducted a high resolution mutagenesis analysis of these residues. The
results of this analysis, combined with our previous data, are
summarized in Fig. 6.
Dileucine Motif
In our previous study (8), we found that
alanine substitution of either Leu-163 or Leu-164 had marked effects on
sorting. To further investigate their role, we replaced each residue
with valine and isoleucine. Only low expressing clones were isolated for the L164V mutant, precluding evaluation of this substitution (data
not shown). The L163V mutant had a borderline sorting efficiency (E = 0.72 ± 0.06) and appeared impaired relative
to the normal receptor (Fig. 7, top left
panel). In contrast, the two isoleucine replacement mutants
appeared to function normally (Fig. 7, top panels). Taken
together with the alanine scanning mutants, these data stress the
importance of large aliphatic side chains at these two positions.
Casein Kinase II Site
We previously found that replacing Ser-159 with alanine impairs sorting (8). In contrast, Johnson and Kornfeld (9) analyzed a single clone that expressed a mutant bovine receptor with multiple alanine substitutions at potential kinase sites (murine numbering, S19A, T40A, S84A, and S159A) and found that it functioned normally in terms of targeting cathepsin D. To recheck our findings, we confirmed the cytoplasmic domain sequence of the S159A mutant and conducted an independent transfection experiment to assess its function in sorting. These results corroborate our original observations, verifying that in our system, the receptor does not readily tolerate alanine substitution at position 159 (Table I and data not shown).
To examine the role of Ser-159 in sorting, we replaced this residue with threonine, cysteine, glutamate, or aspartate. None of the mutations had major effects on sorting (Fig. 7 (bottom panels) and Table I). However, from the sorting efficiencies and inspection of the individual scattergrams, it appears that the S159D mutant may be marginally more efficient than the normal receptor, and the S159C mutant may be slightly impaired. Taken together with the alanine scan, these results indicate that a polar side chain at position 159 is important, but show that cycles of serine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation are not obligatory for intracellular trafficking of the M6P/IGF2R.
We previously found from alanine scanning mutagenesis that each of the
five charged residues flanking Ser-159 was important for efficient
sorting (8). To determine if charge or shape was important, we examined
the effects of isoelectric and isosteric substitutions. Four residues
readily tolerated conservative substitutions: mutants with isoelectric
substitutions at Asp-157 (D157E), Asp-158 (D158E), Glu-161 (E161D), and
Asp-162 (D162E) all functioned at least as efficiently as the wild-type
receptor (Fig. 8 and Table I). Isosteric substitutions
at some of these residues were relatively innocuous, with the D162N,
D158N, and D157N mutants functioning similarly to the wild-type
receptor (Fig. 8 and Table I; also data not shown). The E161Q construct
had a low sorting efficiency (E = 0.43 ± 0.27).
While this may have been a result of the general low expression,
comparison of E161Q clones containing similar levels of receptor with
both the E161D mutant and positive control suggests that the isosteric
mutation is not well tolerated (Fig. 8, bottom left panel).
Asp-160 was unique in that isoelectric and isosteric substitutions
severely impaired function (D160E, E = 0.30 ± 0.13; and D160N, E = 0.31 ± 0.18) (Fig. 8,
top right panel), indicating that this residue is a critical
component of the sorting signal.
Sorting Mutants Have Normal Endocytic Efficiency and Surface Distributions
One concern is that mutations potentially could increase the rate at which the receptor traveled to the plasma membrane or decrease the rate of internalization. This could result in depletion of the intracellular pool of the receptor and thus indirectly interfere with sorting. In the course of selecting clonal cell lines for this study, all clones were first screened by immunofluorescence to estimate relative receptor expression and to evaluate clonal homogeneity as described previously (8). No marked differences in cellular distribution were evident. As an additional quantitative test, we measured the surface distribution of one or two clones for all constructs analyzed in this study. Here, intact and saponin-permeabilized cells were probed with 125I-labeled anti-M6P/IGF2R monoclonal antibody to estimate cell-surface and total receptor, respectively. For the wild-type receptor, 91-96% was intracellular as determined by analysis of six different clones. Control experiments revealed that a truncated bovine M6P/IGF2R with a seven-residue-long cytoplasmic domain that lacks the tyrosine internalization signal (cell line Dd4 (5)) accumulated on the cell surface, with only 44% being intracellular. In contrast, all the mutants described in this and our previous (8) studies were at least 85% intracellular (compiled in Ref. 15; data not shown). This indicates that the intracellular pool of the receptor was not sufficiently depleted to interfere with sorting.
We also measured the endocytic efficiency of a number of the highly
impaired sorting mutants. These experiments were carried out
essentially as described (6). Briefly, cells were placed on ice to
arrest endocytosis, incubated with 125I-labeled
-glucuronidase at 4 °C for 1 h, washed, and rapidly warmed
to 37 °C, and the radioactivity released into the medium, bound to
the surface, and internalized was measured at different time intervals.
The normal receptor internalized ligand rapidly, with a half-time of
~1 min (Fig. 9, top left panel). In
contrast, the control Dd4 cell line was markedly impaired (Fig. 9,
bottom right panel). For all other mutants analyzed, the
significant finding was that while minor differences may be present,
they internalized ligand at rates comparable to the normal receptor (see Fig. 9 and legend). Thus, these severely impaired sorting mutants
fold properly as demonstrated by their ability to bind and rapidly
internalize ligand.
One noteworthy finding of this study is that apart from the endocytosis signal, a single contiguous stretch of eight residues near the C terminus is the sole major sorting determinant revealed by our assay. While part of the cytoplasmic domain may be structural, additional determinants may be important for other processes such as proper trafficking in polarized cells (25, 26) or insulin-stimulated redistribution to the cell surface in adipocytes (27). In addition, it is possible that regions outside the C-terminal region not detected in our assay contribute to sorting. For instance, if the concentration of sorting components and their affinity for the receptor cytoplasmic domain are sufficiently high, then mutations that cause modest changes in affinity may not be apparent. This could be exacerbated if the host cell line has up-regulated other components of the sorting system in an attempt to compensate for impaired lysosomal transport. Nonetheless, our results clearly demonstrate that the C-terminal region is of paramount importance for sorting.
The C-terminal region of the receptor contains two recognizable sequence elements, a dileucine motif and a consensus casein kinase II site. As summarized in Fig. 6, this and our previous (8) studies demonstrate that both elements are involved in sorting. At present, we cannot distinguish whether both or one of these elements is involved in either departure from the trans-Golgi network to endosomes or transit from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network. However, recent studies on the cation-dependent mannose 6-phosphate receptor, which also has a consensus casein kinase II site and dileucine motif near the C terminus (EESEERDDHLLPM), suggest that these motifs may have independent functions: mutations in either motif alone resulted in impaired sorting, while only mutations in the consensus casein kinase II site impaired binding of the Golgi adaptor AP1 in an in vitro assay (28).
Dileucine Motif
Dileucine motifs are thought to participate in a wide range of
targeting steps. This sequence was first noted as a semi-autonomous targeting element on the cytoplasmic domain of the CD3 - or
-subunit that could direct a Tac antigen chimera to the lysosome
(29). Depending on the presence or absence of an intact tyrosine
signal, this determinant could mediate direct (Golgi to lysosome) or
indirect (Golgi to surface to lysosome) targeting. Subsequently,
dileucine or dihydrophobic motifs have been implicated in trafficking
events including lysosomal targeting of lysosomal integral membrane
protein II (30, 31), endocytosis and basolateral sorting of macrophage IgG Fc receptors (32, 33), trafficking of the Glut4 glucose transporter
(34-36), rapid internalization of the major histocompatibility complex
invariant chain (37), internalization of the insulin receptor (38),
protein kinase C-dependent down-regulation of the T cell
receptor (39), as well as intracellular trafficking of both types of
mannose 6-phosphate receptors (8, 9, 28, 40). While in some of these
cases perturbations of adjacent hydrophobic residues may have indirect
effects on another functional element, experiments with reporter
molecules support the notion that the dileucine-based determinants
represent trafficking signals.
The information content of dileucine or dihydrophobic motifs seems
rather low, as given their relatively high abundance, they are commonly
found in the cytoplasmic regions of many transmembrane proteins. (From
analyzing sequences in the SwissProt data base (Version 14), the
frequency of finding two adjacent residues being leucine is 0.9%;
being leucine or isoleucine, 2.3%; and being leucine, isoleucine, or
valine, 4.7%. The probability (p) of a random sequence of
n residues containing one or more pairs of adjacent residues
with a given abundance (f) is p = 1 (1
f)n
1. Thus, for a
100-residue sequence, the probability of having adjacent leucines or
isoleucines is ~90%.) The wide variety of sequences that function in
reporter constructs suggests that if these elements are recognized by a
common binding site, the requirements for molecular recognition are
rather loose. In this respect, dileucine motifs resemble tyrosine
motifs, where a wide variety of related sequences can direct
internalization from the plasma membrane, albeit at vastly different
rates (41).
One intriguing possibility is that dileucine motifs evolved from a quality control pathway that serves to target damaged membrane proteins to the lysosome. In this case, protein damage would cause the normally inaccessible dihydrophobic determinant to be exposed at the surface of the molecule. If there were no downstream retrieval event, this pathway could function with relatively slow kinetics, as the targeting step would be essentially irreversible. Relatively inefficient signals may also suffice for delivery of resident membrane proteins to lysosomes. At the other end of the spectrum, receptors such as the M6P/IGF2R whose function requires rapid recycling between different compartments may require more efficient signals, and the recognition determinant may be more extensive. It will be important to identify the cellular components that recognize these motifs and to investigate their role in both trafficking and protein turnover.
Consensus Casein Kinase II Site
Serine Phosphorylation Is Not Essential for FunctionStudies by Hoflack and co-workers (21, 22) suggest that phosphorylation of the casein kinase II sites in the cytoplasmic domain may be involved in receptor trafficking. In experiments performed on normal rat kidney cells, both Ser-159 and Ser-84 underwent cycles of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, and phosphorylation occurred either in the trans-Golgi network or shortly after exit. Interestingly, while the distribution of the data obtained from our experimental system precludes firm conclusions regarding minor functional differences, close inspection of the data suggests that the rank order for intrinsic sorting efficiency may be S159A < S159C < S159T ~ wild-type ~ S159E < S159D (Figs. 6 and 7). As aspartate can mimic phosphoserine in poly-Ig receptor trafficking (42), and threonine can serve as a substrate for casein kinase II (24), it is possible that phosphorylation may increase the affinity of the receptor for cellular components that effect trafficking. This would be consistent with in vitro binding studies (43). However, an important finding is that in our experimental system, cycles of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation clearly are not obligatory for receptor function in sorting.
The Acidic Cluster and Aspartate 160 Are Critical Components of the Sorting SignalFrom the analysis of Ser-159 and the surrounding residues, we conclude that the acidic cluster, rather than the serine itself, is the most critical feature of the consensus casein kinase II site. Interestingly, acidic clusters have been noted to occur on the cytoplasmic domains of other cycling proteins (44). Recently, acidic clusters in the cytoplasmic domain of furin (45-48) and invariant chain (49) have been implicated in intracellular trafficking events. The acidic clusters may be important for protein-protein interactions, either through direct contact or by coordinating a divalent cation. Alternatively, the aspartate may have some key catalytic role or may be transiently modified, as found in the bacterial two-component system (50). It will be interesting to determine if key aspartates are also critical for the intracellular trafficking functions of other proteins and, if so, to further dissect their role in the trafficking process.
We thank Jill Remmler for technical assistance and Li Lin and David Sleat for critical reading of the manuscript.