Endocytosis of ABCG2 drug transporter caused by binding of 5D3 antibody: trafficking mechanisms and intracellular fate

• Binding of 5D3, a conformation-specific antibody, induces endocytosis of ABCG2.
• ABCG2 endocytosis is dynamin-dependent and proceeds via early endosome.
• ABCG2 is endocytosed through two pathways: clathrin- and cholesterol-dependent.
• Internalized ABCG2 is partially degraded and partially restored to cell surface.

ABCG2, a metabolite and xenobiotic transporter located at the plasma membrane (predominantly in barrier tissues and progenitor cells), undergoes a direct progressive endocytosis process from plasma membrane to intracellular compartments upon binding of 5D3 monoclonal antibody. This antibody is specific to an external epitope on the protein molecule and locks it in a discrete conformation within its activity cycle, presumably providing a structural trigger for the observed internalization phenomenon. Using routine and novel assays, we show that ABCG2 is endocytosed by a mixed mechanism: partially via a rapid, clathrin-dependent pathway and partially in a cholesterol-dependent, caveolin-independent manner. While the internalization process is entirely dynamin-dependent and converges initially at the early endosome, subsequent intracellular fate of ABCG2 is again twofold: endocytosis leads to only partial lysosomal degradation, while a significant fraction of the protein is retained in a post-endosomal compartment with the possibility of at least partial recycling back to the cell surface. This externally triggered, conformation-related trafficking pathway may serve as a general regulatory paradigm for membrane transporters, and its discovery was made possible thanks to consistent application of quantitative methods.