|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
2 Electron Microscopy Facility, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wessling{at}hsph.harvard.edu.
The physiological role of transferrin receptor-2 (TfR2), a homolog of the well-characterized transferrin receptor-1 (TfR1), is unclear. Mutations in TfR2 result in hemochromatosis indicating that this receptor has a unique role in iron metabolism. Here we report that HepG2 cells, which endogenously expresses TfR2, display a biphasic pattern of Tf uptake when presented with ligand concentrations up to 2 µM. The apparently non-saturating pathway of Tf endocytosis resembles TfR1-independent Tf uptake, a process previously characterized in some liver cell types. Exogenous expression of TfR2 but not TfR1 induces a similar biphasic pattern of Tf uptake in HeLa cells, supporting a role for TfR2 in this process. Immunoelectron microscopy reveals that while Tf, TfR1, and TfR2 are localized in the plasma membrane and tubulovesicular endosomes, TfR2 expression is associated with the additional appearance of Tf in multivesicular bodies. These combined results imply that unlike TfR1, which recycles apo-Tf back to the cell surface after the release of iron, TfR2 promotes the intracellular deposition of ligand. Tf delivered by TfR2 does not appear to be degraded, suggesting that its delivery to this organelle may be functionally relevant to the storage of iron in overload states.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
S. F. Drake, E. H. Morgan, C. E. Herbison, R. Delima, R. M. Graham, A. C. G. Chua, P. J. Leedman, R. E. Fleming, B. R. Bacon, J. K. Olynyk, et al. Iron absorption and hepatic iron uptake are increased in a transferrin receptor 2 (Y245X) mutant mouse model of hemochromatosis type 3 Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, January 1, 2007; 292(1): G323 - G328. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. Camaschella Understanding iron homeostasis through genetic analysis of hemochromatosis and related disorders Blood, December 1, 2005; 106(12): 3710 - 3717. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |