Homologous regulation of the MSH receptor in melanoma cells.

We have examined the mechanism of homologous regulation of MSH receptor binding and receptor-mediated adenylate cyclase activation in three human and two mouse melanoma cell lines. Pretreatment with alpha-MSH resulted in a time- and dose-dependent up-regulation of MSH receptors in human D10 and 205 melanoma cells whereas in human HBL and in mouse B16-F1 and Cloudman S91 cells alpha-MSH induced receptor down-regulation. Up-regulation of receptors was maximal after a 24-h incubation period and an alpha-MSH concentration of 100 nM (EC50 = 2.4 nM). The increase in alpha-MSH binding was independent of adenylate cyclase activation and protein synthesis and appeared to be caused by recruitment of spare receptors. The structural requirements of the peptide for triggering this process differed from those found in receptor-binding analyses. Receptor down-regulation was maximal after 12 h and hence more rapid than up-regulation. In B16-F1 cells, 10 nM alpha-MSH caused the disappearance of 85-90% of the MSH receptors, the EC50 of 0.23 nM lying exactly between that for alpha-MSH-induced melanogenesis (0.027 nM) and the dissociation constant of receptor binding (1.31 nM). Down-regulation in B16-F1 cells appears to be the consequence of receptor internalization following MSH binding and seems to be initiated during an early step in MSH signalling, preceding the activation of adenylate cyclase and the cAMP signal. Receptor up- and down-regulation were not accompanied by an alteration in affinity to alpha-MSH, as demonstrated by Scatchard analysis of the binding curves.