Extracellular release of acid hydrolases from cultured retinal pigmented epithelium

The intracellular and extracellular distribution of acid hydrolases in cultured retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) was studied. Incubation of cultured RPE in medium containing 20 mM mannose-6-phosphate resulted in the extracellular release of approximately 15% of the cell-associated activity of several acid hydrolases. This represents an approximate 120% increase over control levels after 24 hr of culture with 20 mM mannose-6-phosphate. The extracellular release is not due to cell lysis, since no release of the cytoplasmic marker lactate dehydrogenase was seen. n-Acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, alpha-mannosidase, and beta-glucuronidase were released into the extracellular medium, while acid phosphatase and beta-glucosidase were not. The release was specific for mannose-6-phosphate, and was dose-dependent. Inhibition of protein synthesis by treatment of RPE cells with cycloheximide (100 micrograms/ml) inhibited extracellular acid hydrolase release. RPE cells exhibited n-Acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase bound to the cell surface via a mannose-6-phosphate sensitive receptor. These results demonstrate a specific extracellular release of acid hydrolases by RPE and the presence of at least one acid hydrolase on the RPE cell surface. This may represent a mechanism for control of cell surface and extracellular levels of these enzymes in RPE via the mannose-6-phosphate receptor.