The cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor (M6P/IGF-II receptor) undergoes constitutive endocytosis, mediating the internalization of two unrelated classes of ligands, mannose 6-phosphate (Man-6-P)-containing acid hydrolases and insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II). To determine the role of ligand valency in M6P/IGF-II receptor-mediated endocytosis, we measured the internalization rates of two ligands, -glucuronidase (a homotetramer bearing multiple Man-6-P moieties) and IGF-II. We found that -glucuronidase entered the cell ϳ3-4-fold faster than IGF-II. Unlabeled -glucuronidase stimulated the rate of internalization of 125 I-IGF-II to equal that of 125 I--glucuronidase, but a bivalent synthetic tripeptide capable of occupying both Man-6-P-binding sites on the M6P/IGF-II receptor simultaneously did not. A mutant receptor with one of the two Man-6-P-binding sites inactivated retained the ability to internalize -glucuronidase faster than IGF-II. Thus, the increased rate of internalization required a multivalent ligand and a single Man-6-P-binding site on the receptor. M6P/IGF-II receptor solubilized and purified in Triton X-100 was present as a monomer, but association with -glucuronidase generated a complex composed of two receptors and one -glucuronidase. Neither IGF-II nor the synthetic peptide induced receptor dimerization. These results indicate that intermolecular cross-linking of the M6P/IGF-II receptor occurs upon binding of a multivalent ligand, resulting in an increased rate of internalization.The mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor (M6P/IGF-II receptor) 1 is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein that cycles through the Golgi, endosomes, and the plasma membrane to carry out its role in the biogenesis of lysosomes and in the clearance of the polypeptide insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) (1, 2). In the Golgi, the receptor binds newly synthesized acid hydrolases modified with mannose 6-phosphate (Man-6-P) residues on their asparagine-linked oligosaccharides and transports them to endosomes via clathrincoated vesicles (3-5). The acid hydrolases are released in the acidified endosome and then packaged into lysosomes while the receptor either returns to the Golgi to bind another ligand or moves to the plasma membrane (6, 7). At the plasma membrane, the M6P/IGF-II receptor mediates internalization of Man-6-P-containing ligands and IGF-II (3,5,8).The interactions of IGF-II and Man-6-P-containing ligands with the M6P/IGF-II receptor have been characterized in several studies (8 -12). The extracellular portion of the M6P/ IGF-II receptor contains 15 homologous repeating domains of ϳ147 amino acids each (13). Domains 3 and 9 (numbering from the amino terminus) each bind 1 mol of Man-6-P, and the single IGF-II-binding site has been mapped to domain 11 in the extracellular region (14 -16). Man-6-P residues do not inhibit binding of IGF-II to the receptor, verifying that the two ligandbinding sites are distinct. However, proteins containing Man-6...