From vesicle to cytosol

Abstract

Drugs called bisphosphonates are used to treat a range of bone diseases, but how do they reach the enzymes that are their target?

Keywords: biochemistry; bone-targeting drugs; cell biology; chemical biology; genome-wide screening; human; lysosomes; mechanism of action; membrane transporter; mouse.

Figure 1.. How bisphosphonates act in bone.

(A) Old and damaged bone is constantly being broken down by cells called osteoclasts in a process called resorption (top left), while new bone is deposited by cells called osteoblasts (top right). Cells called osteocytes (bottom) influence both of these processes through a spidery system of tiny canals called canaliculi. After entering the circulation, the drug bisphosphonate (green) binds very effectively to calcium ions on the bone mineral surface. During resorption, the bisphosphonate on the bone surface is released into the acidic extracellular space beneath the osteoclast. (B) The bisphosphonate in the extracellular space is engulfed into osteoclasts via a process called endocytosis (1). The resulting endosomes mature to form structures called lysosomes, and two proteins, SLC37A3 and ATRAID, then interact in the membrane of the lysosome to allow the bisphosphonate to enter the cytosol (2). Once in the cytosol, the nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates inhibit an enzyme called FDPS and prevent the osteoclast from breaking down bone (3). BP: bisphosphonate; FDPS: farnesyl diphosphate synthase; SLC37A3: solute carrier family 37 member A3.