SUMMARY Notch signaling induced by cell surface ligands is critical to development and maintenance of many eukaryotic organisms. Notch and its ligands are integral membrane proteins that facilitate direct cell-cell interactions to activate Notch proteolysis and release the intracellular domain that directs Notch-specific cellular responses. Genetic studies suggest Notch ligands require endocytosis, ubiquitylation and epsin endocytic adaptors to activate signaling, yet the exact role ligand endocytosis serves remains unresolved. Here we characterize a molecularly distinct mode of clathrin-mediated endocytosis requiring ligand ubiquitylation, epsins and actin for ligand cells to activate signaling in Notch cells. Using a cell-bead optical tweezers system, we obtained evidence for cell-mediated mechanical force dependent on this distinct mode of ligand endocytosis. We propose mechanical pulling force produced by endocytosis of Notch-bound ligand drives conformational changes in Notch that permit activating proteolysis.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to activate proliferation, migration, and survival pathways in endothelial cells through phosphorylation of VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). VEGF has been incorporated into biomaterials through encapsulation, electrostatic sequestration, and covalent attachment, but the effect of these immobilization strategies on VEGF signaling has not been thoroughly investigated. Further, although growth factor internalization along with the receptor generally occurs in a physiological setting, whether this internalization is needed for receptor phosphorylation is not entirely clear. Here we show that VEGF covalently bound through a modified heparin molecule elicits an extended response of pVEGFR-2 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and that the covalent linkage reduces internalization of the growth factor during receptor endocytosis. Optical tweezer measurements show that the rupture force required to disrupt the heparin-VEGF-VEGFR-2 interaction increases from 3–8 pN to 6–12 pN when a covalent bond is introduced between VEGF and heparin. Importantly, by covalently binding VEGF to a heparin substrate, the stability (half-life) of VEGF is extended over three-fold. Here, mathematical models support the biological conclusions, further suggesting that VEGF internalization is significantly reduced when covalently bound, and indicating that VEGF is available for repeated phosphorylation events.

SUMMARY Notch signaling controls diverse cellular processes critical to development and disease. Cell surface ligands bind Notch on neighboring cells yet require endocytosis to activate signaling. The role ligand endocytosis plays in Notch activation has not been established. Here we integrate optical tweezers with cell biological and biochemical methods to test the prevailing model that ligand endocytosis facilitates recycling to enhance ligand interactions with Notch necessary to trigger signaling. Specifically, single-molecule measurements indicate that interference of ligand endocytosis and/or recycling does not alter the force required to rupture bonds formed between cells expressing the Notch ligand Delta-like1 (Dll1) and laser-trapped Notch1-beads. Together, our analyses eliminate roles for ligand endocytosis and recycling in Dll1-Notch1 interactions, and indicate that recycling indirectly affects signaling by regulating the accumulation of cell-surface ligand. Importantly, our study demonstrates the utility of optical tweezers to test a role for ligand endocytosis in generating cell-mediated mechanical force.

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Hypoxia, or low oxygen (O2) tension, is a central feature of important disease processes including wound healing and cancer. Subtle temporal and spatial variations (≤ 1% change) in the concentration...