Clathrin-coated vesicles execute receptor-mediated endocytosis at the plasma membrane. However, a role for clathrin in later endocytic trafficking processes, such as receptor sorting and recycling or maintaining the organization of the endocytic pathway, has not been thoroughly characterized. The existence of clathrin-coated buds on endosomes suggests that clathrin might mediate later endocytic trafficking events. To investigate the function of clathrin-coated buds on endosomal membranes, endosome function and distribution were analyzed in a HeLa cell line that expresses the dominant-negative clathrin inhibitor Hub in an inducible manner. As expected, Hub expression reduced receptor-mediated endocytosis at the plasma membrane. Hub expression also induced a perinuclear aggregation of early endosome antigen 1-positive early endosomes, such that sorting and recycling endosomes were found tightly concentrated in the perinuclear region. Despite the dramatic redistribution of endosomes, Hub expression did not affect the overall kinetics of receptor sorting or recycling. These data show that clathrin function is necessary to maintain proper cellular distribution of early endosomes but does not play a prominent role in sorting and recycling events. Thus, clathrin's role on endosomal membranes is to influence organelle localization and is distinct from its role in trafficking pathways at the plasma membrane and trans-Golgi network.
INTRODUCTIONClathrin-coated vesicles (CCV) mediate the selective transport of integral membrane proteins between some cellular membranes (Kirchhausen, 2000). At the plasma membrane, CCV facilitate receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME), whereby cell surface receptors and their ligands are internalized and delivered to the endocytic pathway (Schwartz, 1995). After RME, the fates of internalized receptors and ligands vary (reviewed by Mukherjee et al., 1997). Some progress to the late endocytic pathway where they are degraded in lysosomes (Carpenter and Cohen, 1976;Fox and Das, 1979). Others, such as transferrin (Tf) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, are sorted to a recycling compartment (Dunn et al., 1989;Mayor et al., 1993), from which they return to the plasma membrane (Anderson et al., 1982;Hopkins and Trowbridge, 1983). Although it is known that these receptors are endocytosed via CCV (Anderson et al., 1977;Willingham et al., 1979;Bleil and Bretscher, 1982), the degree to which clathrin mediates subsequent sorting and recycling of the proteins has been a subject of debate.The early endocytic pathway is composed of both sorting and recycling endosomes (Ghosh et al., 1994). Sorting endosomes separate endocytosed material that is to be recycled from material destined for the lysosome. Recycling components proceed to recycling endosomes from which they return to the plasma membrane. Clathrin-coated buds have been observed on early endosomes (Stoorvogel et al., 1996), making it a logical hypothesis that clathrin might mediate receptor sorting in the recycling pathway. A compelling findin...