Receptor subtype-specific regulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor sequestration by dynamin. Distinct sequestration of m2 receptors.

Sustained stimulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) and other G protein-coupled receptors usually leads to a loss of receptor binding sites from the plasma membrane, referred to as receptor sequestration. Receptor sequestration can occur via endocytosis of clathrin-coated vesicles that bud from the plasma membrane into the cell but may also be accomplished by other, as yet ill-defined, mechanisms. Previous work has indicated that the monomeric GTPase dynamin controls the endocytosis of plasma membrane receptors via clathrin-coated vesicles. To investigate whether mAChRs sequester in a receptor subtype-specific manner via dynamin-dependent clathrin-coated vesicles, we tested the effect of overexpressing the dominant-negative dynamin mutant K44A on m1, m2, m3, and m4 mAChR sequestration in HEK-293 cells. The m1, m2, m3, and m4 mAChRs sequestered rapidly in HEK-293 cells following agonist exposure but displayed dissimilar sequestration pathways. Overexpression of dynamin K44A mutant fully blocked m1 and m3 mAChR sequestration, whereas m2 mAChR sequestration was not affected. Also, m4 mAChRs, which like m2 mAChRs preferentially couple to pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins, sequestered in a completely dynamin-dependent manner. Following agonist removal, sequestered m1 mAChRs fully reappeared on the cell surface, whereas sequestered m2 mAChRs did not. The distinct sequestration of m2 mAChRs was also apparent in COS-7 and Chinese hamster ovary cells. We conclude that the m2 mAChR displays unique subtype-specific sequestration that distinguishes this receptor from the m1, m3, and m4 subtypes. These results are the first to demonstrate that receptor sequestration represents a new type of receptor subtype-specific regulation within the family of mAChRs.