Differential endocytic sorting of p75NTR and TrkA in response to NGF: a role for late endosomes in TrkA trafficking

NGF binds to two receptors, p75NTR and TrkA. The endosomal trafficking of receptors is of emerging importance for the understanding of their signaling. We compared the endocytic trafficking of the two NGF receptors in PC12 cells. Both p75NTR and TrkA were internalized in response to NGF and colocalized with early endosomes. However, surprisingly, the subsequent endosomal trafficking paths of both NGF receptors diverged: whereas p75NTR recycled back to the surface, TrkA moved to late endosomes and underwent lysosomal degradation. By performing subcellular fractionations of NGF stimulated PC12 cells, tyrosine-phosphorylated TrkA was recovered in fractions corresponding to late endosomes. This implicates these organelles as novel endosomal NGF signaling platforms. Furthermore, the trafficking of NGF receptors could be manipulated by pharmacological means. Disrupting p75NTR recycling diminished TrkA activation in response to low concentrations of NGF, demonstrating a functional role for the recycling of p75NTR.