Transferrin Receptor 2-α Supports Cell Growth Both in Iron-chelated Cultured Cells and in Vivo*

In most cells, transferrin receptor (TfR1)-mediated endocytosis is a major pathway for cellular iron uptake. We recently cloned the human transferrin receptor 2 (TfR2) gene, which encodes a second receptor for transferrin (Kawabata, H., Yang, R., Hirama, T., Vuong, P. T., Kawano, S., Gombart, A. F., and Koeffler, H. P. (1999) J. Biol. Chem.274, 20826–20832). In the present study, the regulation of TfR2 expression and function was investigated. A select Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-TRVb cell line that does not express either TfR1 or TfR2 was stably transfected with either TfR1or TfR2-αcDNA. TfR2-α-expressing cells had considerably lower affinity for holotransferrin when compared with TfR1-expressing CHO cells. Interestingly, in contrast to TfR1, expression ofTfR2mRNA in K562 cells was not up-regulated by desferrioxamine (DFO), a cell membrane-permeable iron chelator. In MG63 cells, expression of TfR2mRNA was regulated in the cell cycle with the highest expression in late G1phase and no expression in G0/G1. DFO reduced cell proliferation and DNA synthesis of CHO-TRVb control cells, whereas it had little effect on TfR2-α-expressing CHO cells when measured by clonogenic and cell cycle analysis. In addition, CHO cells that express TfR2-α developed into tumors in nude mice whereas CHO control cells did not. In conclusion, TfR2 expression may be regulated by the cell cycle rather than cellular iron status and may support cell growth bothin vitroand in vivo.