Calcium-sensing receptors signal constitutive macropinocytosis and facilitate the uptake of NOD2 ligands in macrophages

Macropinocytosis can be induced in several cell types by stimulation with growth factors. In selected cell types, notably macrophages and dendritic cells, macropinocytosis occurs constitutively, supporting the uptake of antigens for subsequent presentation. Despite their different mode of initiation and contrasting physiological roles, it is tacitly assumed that both types of macropinocytosis are mechanistically identical. We report that constitutive macropinocytosis is stringently calcium dependent, while stimulus-induced macropinocytosis is not. Extracellular calcium is sensed by G-protein-coupled calcium-sensing receptors (CaSR) that signal macropinocytosis through G alpha-, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and phospholipase C. These pathways promote the recruitment of exchange factors that stimulate Rac and/or Cdc42, driving actin-dependent formation of ruffles and macropinosomes. In addition, the heterologous expression of CaSR in HEK293 cells confers on them the ability to perform constitutive macropinocytosis. Finally, we show that CaSR-induced constitutive macropinocytosis facilitates the sentinel function of macrophages, promoting the efficient delivery of ligands to cytosolic pattern-recognition receptors.