Signaling induced by hop/STI-1 depends on endocytosis

The co-chaperone hop/STI-1 is a ligand of the cell surface prion protein (PrPC), and their interaction leads to signaling and biological effects. Among these, hop/STI-1 induces proliferation of A172 glioblastoma cells, dependent on both PrPC and activation of the Erk pathway. We tested whether clathrin-mediated endocytosis affects signaling induced by hop/STI-1. Both hyperosmolarity induced by sucrose and monodansyl-cadaverine blocked Erk activity induced by hop/STI-1, without affecting the high basal Akt activity typical of A172. The endocytosis inhibitors also affected the sub-cellular distribution of phosphorylated Erk, consistent with blockade of the latter’s activity. The data indicate that signaling induced by hop/STI-1 depends on endocytosis. These findings are consistent with a role of sub-cellular trafficking in signal transduction following engagement by PrPC by ligands such as hop/STI-1, and may help help unravel both the functions of the prion protein, as well as possible loss-of-function components of prion diseases.