Regulation of the apico-basolateral trafficking polarity of the homologous copper-ATPases ATP7A and ATP7B

The homologous P-type copper-ATPases (Cu-ATPases) ATP7A and ATP7B are the key regulators of copper homeostasis in mammalian cells. In polarized epithelia, upon copper treatment, ATP7A and ATP7B traffic from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to basolateral and apical membranes, respectively. We characterized the sorting pathways of Cu-ATPases between TGN and the plasma membrane and identified the machinery involved. ATP7A and ATP7B reside on distinct domains of TGN in limiting copper conditions, and in high copper, ATP7A traffics to basolateral membrane, whereas ATP7B traverses common recycling, apical sorting and apical recycling endosomes en route to apical membrane. Mass spectrometry identified regulatory partners of ATP7A and ATP7B that include the adaptor protein-1 complex. Upon knocking out pan-AP-1, sorting of both Cu-ATPases is disrupted. ATP7A loses its trafficking polarity and localizes on both apical and basolateral surfaces in high copper. By contrast, ATP7B loses TGN retention but retained its trafficking polarity to the apical domain, which became copper independent. Using isoform-specific knockouts, we found that the AP-1A complex provides directionality and TGN retention for both Cu-ATPases, whereas the AP-1B complex governs copper-independent trafficking of ATP7B solely. Trafficking phenotypes of Wilson disease-causing ATP7B mutants that disrupts putative ATP7B–AP1 interaction further substantiates the role of AP-1 in apical sorting of ATP7B.