Influence of molecular charge upon the endocytosis and intracellular fate of peroxidase activity in cultured arterial endothelium.

The molecular charge of the macromolecule, horseradish peroxidase (HRPase, 40 000 mol. wt), was modified to yield highly anionic (PI less than 3.68) and cationic (PI = 9.5-10.5) derivatives. The effects upon the interactions between HRPase and arterial endothelium were then studied in vitro. The net rate of uptake of HRPase into endocytic vesicles and vacuoles of confluent endothelium was influenced by its molecular charge, there being less internalization of the anionic HRPase than of the native (pI = 7.9-8.2) and cationic derivatives. The molecular diameter was not significantly different between the cationic (Ae = 28.8 A), anionic (Ae = 31.2 A) and native (Ae = 29.6 A) HRPase. The rate of uptake of [U-14C]sucrose, a tracer of bulk fluid endocytosis, was unaffected by the presence of the differently charged HRPase, indicating that the volume of vesicles formed per cell per hour remained constant. The intracellular fate of HRPase of different charge was investigated biochemically and morphologically. The rate of loss of internalized HRPase activity in the endothelial cells approximated first-order kinetics. The rate of disappearance of intracellular HRPase activity was much greater for cationic (t1/2 = 8 h) and native (t1/2 = I 8 h) than for anionic HRPase (t1/2 = 80-100 h). By electron microscopy, all 3 forms of HRPase were restricted to intracellular membrane-bounded vesicles and vacuoles consistent with a vesicle-lysosomal pathway. Studies with purified lysosomal cathepsin D indicated that the differences in the intracellular half-lives of HRPase may be attributable in small part to decreased and increased rates of lysosomal proteolysis of anionic and cationic HRPase, respectively, in comparison with native HRPase. Pre-labelling of endothelial secondary lysosomes by inhibitors of phagosome-lysosome fusion (dextran sulphate, polyglutamate) lengthened the intracellular half-life of native HRPase, while introduction of cationic ferritin to cells pulsed with anionic HRPase greatly decreased its half-life. Thus an influence of molecular charge upon endosome-lysosome fusion cannot be excluded. The studies indicate that the net charge carried by exogenous HRPase influences both its internalization in endocytic vesicles and its subsequent intracellular fate, which in turn may be modified by the introduction of other differently charged macromolecules. These results are discussed in relation to macromolecular transport by vascular endothelium in vivo.