Coated pits and pinocytosis of cationized ferritin in human skin fibroblasts.

Pinocytosis was studied in cultured human skin fibroblasts in order to obtain more information about uptake in these cells of non-specific ligands with different net surface charge. The fibroblasts were obtained from a normal person and a patient homozygous for familial hypercholesterolemia. No ultrastructural differences were observed between the two cell types. The ratio between coated and smooth pits at the cell surface was about 1:6. Freeze-fracture revealed that whereas smooth pits were devoid of intramembrane particles, the coated pits occupying 1-5% of the total cell surface area showed numerous intramembrane particles. Cationized ferritin (pI = 8.5) bound to the cell surface and to coated pits of both types of fibroblasts at 4 degrees C. Either type internalized CF at 37 degrees C. Vacuoles (lysosomal elements) containing CF were seen already after 5 min at 37 degrees C, but were much numerous after 30 min of incubation at 37 degrees C, and appeared with the same frequency in both cell types. Smooth (uncoated) pits at the cell surface remained unlabeled. In contrast to CF, native ferritin (pI = 4.6) was internalized to a very limited extent in both cell types, even after 3.5 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. These results indicate that both normal and FH fibroblasts internalize CF exclusively by coated pits, and adsorptive uptake mechanism that apparently is nonspecific but clearly cation-selective.