Differential β-Arrestin Trafficking and Endosomal Sorting of Somatostatin Receptor Subtypes

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 279; no. 20; p. 21374
• Main Authors: Giovanni Tulipano, Ralf Stumm, Manuela Pfeiffer, Hans-Jürgen Kreienkamp, Volker Höllt, Stefan Schulz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 14.05.2004
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M313522200
• ISSN: 0021-9258

The physiological responses of somatostatin are mediated by five different G protein-coupled receptors. Although agonist-induced endocytosis of the various somatostatin receptor subtypes (sst 1 -sst 5 ) has been studied in detail, little is known about their postendocytic trafficking. Here we show that somatostatin receptors profoundly differ in patterns of β-arrestin mobilization and endosomal sorting. The β-arrestin-dependent trafficking of the sst 2A somatostatin receptor resembled that of a class B receptor in that upon receptor activation, β-arrestin and the receptor formed stable complexes and internalized together into the same endocytic vesicles. This pattern was dependent on GRK2 (G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2)-mediated phosphorylation of a cluster of phosphate acceptor sites within the cytoplasmic tail of the sst 2A receptor. Unlike other class B receptors, however, the sst 2A receptor was rapidly resensitized and recycled to the plasma membrane. The β-arrestin mobilization of the sst 3 and the sst 5 somatostatin receptors resembled that of a class A receptor in that upon receptor activation, β-arrestin and the receptor formed relatively unstable complexes that dissociated at or near the plasma membrane. Consequently, β-arrestin was excluded from sst 3 -containing vesicles. Unlike other class A receptors, a large proportion of sst 3 receptors was subject to ubiquitin-dependent lysosomal degradation and did not rapidly recycle to the plasma membrane. The sst 4 somatostatin receptor is unique in that it did not exhibit agonist-dependent receptor phosphorylation and β-arrestin recruitment. Together, these findings may provide important clues about the regulation of receptor responsiveness during long-term administration of somatostatin analogs.