Metabolism of photoaffinity-labeled insulin-like growth factor-I receptors by human cells in vitro.

These studies were undertaken to characterize the physiological fate of the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I)-type I receptor complex in MG-63, an IGF-responsive human osteosarcoma cell line. To investigate this, a photoreactive iodinated derivative of IGF-I [5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyl-125I-IGF-I (ANBz-125I-IGF-I)] was synthesized. This derivative retained biological activity and photolabeled a cell surface component on MG-63 cells with the size and binding specificity characteristic of the type I IGF receptor. To assess the stability of the photoaffinity-labeled IGF-I receptor complex, quiescent monolayers of MG-63 cells were incubated with ANBz-125I-IGF-I at 2 C, photolyzed, and then warmed to 37 C. At various times the monolayers were solubilized and the receptor complex was identified by quantitative autoradiography after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Under these conditions the photoaffinity-labeled IGF-I receptor complex was relatively stable, with a half-life of 11 +/- 2 h in five experiments. To determine if the complex undergoes internalization, its susceptibility to hydrolysis by trypsin at 2 C was measured. When cells that were labeled at 2 C were warmed to 37 C, a trypsin-insensitive band appeared within 20 min, reached a maximum by 1 h, and declined thereafter; however, an average of only 7% (5-8% in four experiments) of the total labeled receptor pool was present intracellularly at 1 h, and this declined to less than 1% by 4 h. A similar distribution of receptors was observed in cells photolabeled after incubation with ANBz-125I-IGF-I at 37 C, indicating that this distribution was not the result of altered metabolism of the photolabeled receptor complex. Lysosomotropic agents inhibited degradation of the complex, but did not alter its distribution between the cell surface and interior. These results indicated that the IGF-I-type I receptor complex is relatively stable and does not undergo rapid ligand-induced down-regulation and degradation. These observations suggest a model in which the IGF-receptor complex functions while present at or near the cell surface.