Carbon nanotube-based drug delivery holds great promise for cancer therapy. Herein we report the first targeted, in vivo killing of cancer cells using a drug-single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) bioconjugate, and demonstrate efficacy superior to non-targeted bioconjugates. First line anti-cancer agent cisplatin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were attached to SWNTs to specifically target squamous cancer, and the non-targeted control was SWNT-cisplatin without EGF. Initialin vitro imaging studies with head and neck squamous carcinoma cells (HNSCC) overexpressing EGF receptors (EGFR) using Qdot luminescence and confocal microscopy showed that SWNT-Qdot-EGF bioconjugates internalized rapidly into the cancer cells. Limited uptake occurred for control cells without EGF, and uptake was blocked by siRNA knockdown of EGFR in cancer cells, revealing the importance of EGFEGFR binding. Three color, two-photon intra-vital video imagingin vivo showed that SWNT-Qdot-EGF injected into live mice was selectively taken up by HNSCC tumors, but SWNT-Qdot controls with no EGF were cleared from the tumor region in <20 min. HNSCC cells treated with SWNT-cisplatin-EGF were also killed selectively, while control systems that did not feature EGF-EGFR binding did not influence cell proliferation. Most significantly, regression of tumor growth was rapid in mice treated with targeted SWNT-cisplatin-EGF relative to non-targeted SWNT-cisplatin.

The trafficking of two plasma membrane (PM) proteins that lack clathrin internalization sequences, major histocompatibility complex class I (MHCI), and interleukin 2 receptor alpha subunit (Tac) was compared with that of PM proteins internalized via clathrin. MHCI and Tac were internalized into endosomes that were distinct from those containing clathrin cargo. At later times, a fraction of these internalized membranes were observed in Arf6-associated, tubular recycling endosomes whereas another fraction acquired early endosomal autoantigen 1 (EEA1) before fusion with the "classical" early endosomes containing the clathrin-dependent cargo, LDL. After convergence, cargo molecules from both pathways eventually arrived, in a Rab7-dependent manner, at late endosomes and were degraded. Expression of a constitutively active mutant of Arf6, Q67L, caused MHCI and Tac to accumulate in enlarged PIP(2)-enriched vacuoles, devoid of EEA1 and inhibited their fusion with clathrin cargo-containing endosomes and hence blocked degradation. By contrast, trafficking and degradation of clathrin-cargo was not affected. A similar block in transport of MHCI and Tac was reversibly induced by a PI3-kinase inhibitor, implying that inactivation of Arf6 and acquisition of PI3P are required for convergence of endosomes arising from these two pathways.

Clathrin-independent endocytosis internalizes plasma membrane proteins that lack cytoplasmic sequences recognized by clathrin adaptor proteins. There is evidence for different clathrin-independent pathways but whether they share common features has not been systematically tested. Here, we examined whether CD59, an endogenous glycosylphosphatidyl inositol-anchored protein (GPI-AP), and major histocompatibility protein class I (MHCI), an endogenous, integral membrane protein, entered cells through a common mechanism and followed a similar itinerary. At early times of internalization, CD59 and MHCI were found in the same Arf6-associated endosomes before joining clathrin cargo proteins such as transferrin in common sorting endosomes. CD59 and MHCI, but not transferrin, also were observed in the Arf6-associated tubular recycling membranes. Endocytosis of CD59 and MHCI required free membrane cholesterol because it was inhibited by filipin binding to the cell surface. Expression of active Arf6 stimulated endocytosis of GPI-APs and MHCI to the same extent and led to their accumulation in Arf6 endosomes that labeled intensely with filipin. This blocked delivery of GPI-APs and MHCI to early sorting endosomes and to lysosomes for degradation. Endocytosis of transferrin was not affected by any of these treatments. These observations suggest common mechanisms for endocytosis without clathrin. INTRODUCTIONCells sample their environment and internalize plasma membrane through the general process of endocytosis. Endocytosis can be divided into clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent processes. Clathrin-dependent endocytosis is well characterized and involves the selective uptake of plasma membrane proteins containing cytoplasmic sorting sequences via the recruitment of AP2 or other adaptor proteins, clathrin, and a host of accessory proteins that facilitate vesicle budding and fission (Slepnev and De Camilli, 2000;Conner and Schmid, 2003).Clathrin-independent mechanisms encompass pinocytosis, macropinocytosis, and phagocytosis (Johannes and Lamaze, 2002;Conner and Schmid, 2003) with macropinocytosis and phagocytosis representing stimulated processes driven by the cortical actin cytoskeleton. These processes have not been thoroughly characterized nor have their relationships with each other been clarified. The discovery that certain membrane proteins can reside in cholesterol and sphinogolipid-rich microdomains that are resistant to detergent extraction led to enormous interest in studying the trafficking of these proteins and their mechanism of internalization (Ikonen, 2001). In particular, the trafficking of proteins anchored to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI) moiety has been the focus of many studies. There is general agreement that the internalization of GPIanchored proteins (GPI-APs) is both clathrin and, usually, dynamin independent Ricci et al., 2000;Nichols et al., 2001;Sabharanjak et al., 2002) and thought to not involve caveolae (Sabharanjak et al., 2002;Nabi and Le, 2003;Parton and Richards, ...