Quality control by proteases in the endoplasmic reticulum. Removal of a protease-sensitive site enhances expression of human P-glycoprotein.

Human P-glycoprotein is synthesized in HEK 293 cells as two major products: the 150-kDa core-glycosylated intermediate and the 170-kDa mature proteins. The 150- and 170-kDa proteins were not detected in mutants such as G341C. The major protein in this mutant was a 130-kDa proteolytic degradation product. This result suggested that the mutant protein was misfolded and sensitive to proteolytic digestion during or immediately after synthesis. We found that mutation of Arg113, located in the first extracellular loop of P-glycoprotein and near the consensus glycosylation sites, to Ala, Lys, Glu, Met, or Cys blocked formation of the 130-kDa product. Introduction of R113A into mutant G341C resulted in the synthesis of a mature (170 kDa) and functional transporter. Similarly, when R113A was introduced into misprocessed mutants, there was increased synthesis of the 150-kDa core-glycosylated intermediate. Maturation of the core-glycosylated intermediate into the mature enzyme, however, was not observed. These results suggest that polytopic proteins are accessible to proteases in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum during biosynthesis and that proteases are important contributors to the quality control mechanism involved in protein folding. It is also shown that unstable proteins can be made more stable by removal of hypersensitive proteolytic sites.