Beta 2-adrenergic receptor endocytic pathway is controlled by a saturable mechanism distinct from that of transferrin receptor.

: Agonist-dependent internalization is an important phase of beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) regulation. Recent reports have indicated that early steps of beta 2AR endocytosis may involve mechanisms different from those which regulate the internalization of constitutively recycling receptors, such as transferrin receptor (TfR). In the present study, we addressed this issue by comparing, in the same cells, the endocytic pathway of beta 2AR with that of the TfR. Upon incubation at 15 degrees C, activated beta 2ARs accumulated in peripheral endosomes of HEK-293 cells while they were targeted to perinuclear organelles at 37 degrees C. The temperature block was not specific to beta 2ARs, since both peripheral and perinuclear beta 2AR-containing endosomes comigrated on sucrose gradients with those containing transferrin receptors and were loaded with horseradish peroxidase-coupled transferrin. Endocytosis of beta 2ARs was saturable in HEK-293 cells and did not increase upon overexpression of beta-arrestin 1. TfR endocytosis was unaffected by the simultaneous internalization of overexpressed beta 2AR, indicating that the limiting components which regulate endocytosis of these two receptors are different. In conclusion, ligand activated beta 2AR and constitutively recycling receptors, such as TfR, enter the endocytic pathway via distinct saturable mechanisms but converge in the same endosomal compartments. Our results also indicate that a still unidentified component(s) controls beta 2AR endocytosis.