Transport and intracellular localization of cortisol-asialotranscortin complexes in rat liver

The influence of desialylation of human transcortin on transport of the transcortin-cortisol complex into the liver cells and its intracellular distribution was investigated in perfused rat liver. Under experimental conditions used the half-time of cortisol in perfusion medium was decreased more than 200 times in presence of asialotranscortin compared to that of native transcortin. Experiments with [3H]cortisol and [131I]asialotranscortin demonstrated a simultaneous uptake of cortisol and asialotranscortin by the hepatocytes. Distribution of [3H]cortisol and [131I]asialotranscortin in subcellular fractions showed the following pathway of cortisol-asialotranscortin complex: cell membrane, lysosomes, cytoplasm. The complex dissociates in lysosomes.     

Cortisol 17 beta acid, transcortin, and the heterogeneity of rat brain glucocorticoid receptors

Binding of tracer or competing steroids to transcortin can compromise specificity studies on receptors for adrenal steroids. Recently Alexis et al. have used cortisol 17 beta acid at high concentrations to prevent steroid binding to any transcortin possibly contaminating rat brain cytosol preparations. On the basis of limited specificity studies of [3H]dexamethasone and [3H]corticosterone binding under such conditions, it was claimed that binding sites for the two steroids are indistinguishable, and it is thus unnecessary to invoke distinct binding sites for each glucocorticoid. We have extended these competition studies in the presence of cortisol 17 beta acid, and shown that in rat hippocampus Type I, corticosterone-preferring glucocorticoid receptors can be clearly distinguished both from transcortin and from Type II, dexamethasone-binding glucocorticoid receptors.     

Transcortin in rat kidney: subcellular distribution of transcortin-synthesizing polyribosomes

The [3H]corticosterone-transcortin complexes from kidney cytosol show elution positions on DEAE-cellulose identical to serum transcortin. The incorporation of 14C-labeled amino acids into anti-transcortin-precipitable material of kidney slices has been measured and compared with that of serum transcortin. It was established that kidney synthesized transcortin with an apparent molecular weight of 66 kDa on SDS-electrophoresis which resembles serum corticosteroid-binding globulin. Studies on the binding of [125I]anti-transcortin-IgG to membrane-bound rat kidney polyribosomes revealed an association of [125I]anti-transcortin-IgG with a discrete polyribosome fraction in the heavy polyribosome region; free polyribosomes were devoid of antigenic material able to bind antibodies to transcortin.     

Characterization of an antiserum against the glucocorticoid receptor

An immunoglobulin (IgG) fraction from serum of a rabbit immunized with a highly purified preparation of glucocorticoid receptor from rat liver cytosol contained specific antibodies to glucocorticoid receptor. This was shown following incubation of the [³H]triamcinolone acetonide-glucocorticoid receptor (TA-GR) complex with the IgG fraction by (I) adsorption of the [³H]TA-GR-antibody complex to protein A linked to Sepharose, (II) an increased sedimentation rate of the [³H]TA-GR-antibody complex compared to that of the [³H]TA-GR complex, and (III) an increased molecular size of the [³H]TA-GR-antibody complex when compared to that of the [³H]TA-GR complex as judged from gel filtration. The antibody fraction was characterized with regard to titer, cross-reactivity and specificity. The antibodies cross-reacted with the glucocorticoid receptor from various rat tissues (liver, thymus and hippocampus), as well as with the glucocorticoid receptor from human normal lymphocytes, chronic lymphatic leukemia cells and human hippocampus. In the rat liver, the antibody bound to both the nuclear and the cytosolic glucocorticoid receptor (Stokes radius 6.1 nm). It did not cross-react with the proteolytic fragments of the glucocorticoid receptor, the 3.6 nm complex or the 1.9 nm complex. Binding of the antibodies was not seen to the androgen, estrogen or progestin receptors in rat to rat serum transcortin. With an indirect competitive ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) combined with various separation techniques, based on different physiocochemical principles, it was shown that the glucocorticoid receptor was the only detectable antibody binding protein from rat liver cytosol using this assay system. These findings also indicate an immunochemical similarity between glucocorticoid receptors in different tissues as well as in different species, but not between glucocorticoid receptors and other steroid hormone receptor proteins. The cytosolic and nuclear glucocorticoid receptors in rat liver were shown to be immunochemically similar.     

The role of sialic acid in determining the survival of transcortin in the circulation

The effect of desialylation on the survival of human transcortin and of its ligand cortisol has been investigated using the isolated perfused rat liver preparation. In contrast with native transcortin, sialic acid-free transcortin was promptly cleared from the perfusate. The hepatic uptake was accompanied by a significant reduction of the cortisol half-life.     

猪肝刺激物质pHSS对离体肝细胞DNA合成的影响

应用[~3H]TdR掺入离体培养大鼠肝细胞DNA的方法,测定由本室提取的pHSS的生物活性。结果表明,pHSS可显著促进原代培养大鼠肝细胞的DNA合成,其促进率约为对照组的10倍左右。培养液中血清浓度对pHSS的生物活性表达有显著影响,不同浓度血清可以使pHSS表现出不同的量效关系,这些结果在Buffello大鼠肝细胞系的实验中得到进一步证实。在低剂量pHSS的刺激下,不同年龄大鼠肝细胞的[~3H]TdR掺入率无显著差异。但高剂量时,pHSS对幼鼠作用不明显。     

Evidence for the presence of specific binding sites for transcortin in human liver plasma membranes

Binding sites which recognize and bind specifically asialotranscortin and the native transcortin-cortisol complex have been found in plasma membranes of human liver cells. The native conformation of transcortin is an absolute requirement for the binding reaction of the transcortin-hormone complex. Sex-hormone-binding globulin and thyroxine-binding globulin from human serum do not bind to this binding sites.     

Absorption and metabolism of intratracheally instilled cortisol and beclomethasone dipropionate in the isolated perfused rat lungs

The fate of [4-14C]-cortisol and [16,16 alpha-3H]-beclomethasone dipropionate following intratracheal application of the substrates into isolated perfused rat lungs was studied. Both substrates were transferred to the perfusion medium, cortisol at a much higher rate than beclomethasone dipropionate. The proportion of different metabolites of the total radioactivity was larger with beclomethasone dipropionate in both the perfusion medium and the lung tissue. The lungs are considered to have a catabolic role in cortisol metabolism.     

Metabolism of HDL-cholesteryl ester in the rat, studied with a nonhydrolyzable analog, cholesteryl linoleyl ether

Intralipid was sonicated with [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether (a nonhydrolyzable analog of cholesteryl linoleate) and incubated with rat HDL and d greater than 1.21 fraction of rabbit serum at a ratio of 0.012 mg triacylglycerol to 1 mg HDL protein. 25% of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether was transferred to HDL. The labeled HDL was injected into donor rats and was screened for 4 h. [125I]HDL was subjected to the same protocol as the 3H-labeled HDL, including screening. The screened, labeled sera were injected into acceptor rats and the disappearance of radioactivity from the circulation was compared. The t1/2 in the circulation of [125I]HDL was about 10.5 h, while that of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether-HDL was about 8 h. The liver and carcass were the major sites of uptake of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether-HDL and accounted for 29-41% (liver) and 30% (carcass) of the injected label. Maximal recovery of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether in the liver was seen 48 h after injection, and thereafter there was a progressive decline of radioactivity, which reached 7.8% after 28 days. The maximal recovery of [125I]HDL in the liver was about 9%. Pretreatment of the acceptor rats with estradiol for 5 days resulted in a 20% increase in the hepatic uptake of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether-HDL and a 5-fold increase in adrenal uptake. The present findings indicate that in the rat the liver is the major site of uptake of HDL cholesteryl ester and that part of the HDL cholesteryl ester may be cleared from the circulation separately from the protein moiety. On the basis of our previous findings (Stein, Y., Kleinman Y, Halperin, G., and Stein, O. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 750, 300-305) the loss of the [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether from the liver after 14-28 days was interpreted to indicate that the labeled [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether had been taken up by hepatocytes.     

Evidence that the rate of phosphatidylcholine catabolism is regulated in cultured rat hepatocytes

The regulation of phosphatidylcholine (PC) catabolism has been studied in choline-deficient rat hepatocytes. Supplementation of choline-deficient hepatocytes, prelabeled with [3H]choline, with 100 microM choline increased the rate of PC catabolism by approx. 2-fold. The major product of PC degradation was glycerophosphocholine in both choline-deficient and choline-supplemented cells. Choline supplementation decreased the radioactivity recovered in lysoPC by 50%. This effect was accompanied by a 2-fold increase of labeled glycerophosphocholine. Comparable results were obtained when PC of the cells was prelabeled with [3H]methionine or [3H]glycerol. The activity of phospholipase A in cytosol, mitochondria and microsomes isolated from choline-deficient rat liver was similar to the activity in control liver, when determined with [3H]PC vesicles as the substrate. Measurement of the activity of phospholipase A with endogenously [3H]choline-labeled PC showed that the formation of lysoPC in mitochondria isolated form choline-supplemented cells was 40% lower than in choline-deficient cells. Alternatively, the formation of [3H]glycerophosphocholine and [3H]choline in microsomes from choline-supplemented cells was significantly higher (1.4-fold) than in microsomes from choline-deficient cells. These results suggest that the rate of PC catabolism is regulated in rat hepatocytes and that the concentration of PC might be an important regulatory factor.     

Uptake of rat plasma HDL subfractions labeled with [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether or with 125I by cultured rat hepatocytes and adrenal cells

Rat plasma low- and high-density lipoproteins were labeled with [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether and isolated by rate-zonal ultracentrifugation into apolipoprotein B-containing LDL, apolipoprotein E-containing HDL1 and apolipoprotein E-poor HDL2. These fractions were incubated with cultured rat hepatocytes and comparable amounts of all lipoproteins were taken up by the cells. Rat HDL was isolated at d 1.085-1.21 g/ml and apolipoprotein E-free HDL was prepared by heparin Sepharose chromatography. The original HDL and the apolipoprotein E-free HDL were labeled with 125I or with [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether and incubated with rat hepatocytes or adrenal cells in culture. The uptake of apolipoprotein E-free [3H]cholesterol linoleyl ether HDL by the cultured hepatocytes was 20-40% more than that of the original HDL. Comparison of uptake of cholesteryl ester moiety (represented by uptake of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether) and of protein moiety (represented by metabolism of 125I-labeled protein) was carried out using both original and apolipoprotein E-free HDL. In experiments in which low concentrations of HDL were used, the ratio of 3H/125I exceeded 1.0. In cultured adrenal cells, the uptake of [3H]cholesteryl linoleyl ether-labeled HDL was stimulated 3-6-fold by 1 X 10(-7) M ACTH, while the uptake of 125I-labeled HDL increased about 2-fold. The ratio of 3H/125I representing cellular uptake was 2-3 and increased to 5 in ACTH-treated cells. The present results indicate that in cultured rat hepatocytes the uptake of homologous HDL does not depend on the presence of apolipoprotein E. Evidence was also presented for an uptake of cholesteryl ester independent of protein uptake in cultured rat adrenal cells and to a lesser extent in rat hepatocytes.     

Hepatocytes (hepatic parenchymal cells) produce a major part of liver collagen in vivo

Following intraperitoneal injection of [3H]proline and colchicine, rat liver cells were dispersed by collagenase perfusion and fractionated by low-speed and density gradient centrifugation. Analysis of the collagenous components using purified bacterial collagenase showed that 0.1 to 0.2% of the labeled protein produced by the liver cells was collagen. Considering the population of the hepatocytes in the liver (70%), 80% of the collagen produced by the liver could be attributed to the hepatocytes.     

Insulin and epidermal growth factor do not affect phosphoinositide metabolism in rat liver plasma membranes and hepatocytes

Recent studies with viral oncogene tyrosine kinases have suggested that these kinases may phosphorylate phosphoinositides and diacylglycerol. Since the receptors for insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) also possess tyrosine kinase activity, we have investigated possible effects of insulin and EGF on phosphoinositide metabolism in rat liver plasma membranes and rat hepatocytes. In plasma membranes prepared from rats injected 18 h prior with [3H]myo-inositol or incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP, phosphatidylinositol-4-P and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-P2 were formed, but there were no effects of either insulin or EGF although these agents stimulated protein tyrosine phosphorylation. In hepatocytes incubated with [3H]myo-inositol, label was incorporated into phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol-4-P, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-P2, but there was no effect of insulin. Incubation of hepatocytes with [3H]myo-inositol plus insulin or EGF for 2 h also did not alter the formation of [3H]myo-inositol-1,4,5-P3 from [3H]phosphatidylinositol-4,5-P2 induced by vasopressin. These findings suggest that the tyrosine kinase activity of liver insulin and EGF receptors is not important in phosphoinositide formation.     

Human liver nuclear transcortin its postulated role in glucocorticoid regulation of genetic activity

Highly purified human transcortin was injected into rabbits, and the antibody subsequently obtained was employed for the demonstration of transcortin-like molecules within various subcellular fractions of the human liver cell. Results obtained via quantitative double diffusion ouchterlony procedures indicate that proteins extracted from the nucleus or from chromatin form continuous precipitin lines of identity with those of transcortin. Fluorescein-tagged anti-transcortin permitted the visual localization of this molecule within isolated nuclei. Cortisol binding studies of all the subcellular fractions, particularly that extracted from the chromatin, suggest that such proteins do indeed bind cortisol specifically, as well as responding to exogeneous additions to the buffer (sulfhydryl reagents) as does purified transcortin. Purified transcortin when dialyzed exhaustively loses its cortisol binding ability, although the latter can be restored after its incubation with chromatin at 4°C. The restoration of such activity is dependent upon a dialyzable, heat-resistant chromatin component which itself lacks cortisol binding activity and which increases the sedimentation characteristics of dialyzed transcortin. The effect of transcortin on the in vitro synthesis of RNA in an Escherichia coli RNA polymerase human liver chromatin system is also presented. All of the above results are interpreted to indicate that transcortin is involved directly in the regulation of that genetic activity observed subsequent to the administration of cortisol.     

Insulin regulation of glycogen synthase phosphatase in primary cultures of hepatocytes

Activation of glycogen synthase in the perfused rat liver is defective in severely diabetic rats. In the present study, activation of glycogen synthase by glucose and increased incorporation of [14C]glucose into glycogen by insulin are defective in hepatocytes isolated from alloxan diabetic rats. Acute activation of glycogen synthase in hepatocytes isolated from diabetic rats was restored by treatment of the rats with insulin in vivo. Restoration of synthase activation was not achieved by incubation of hepatocytes in the presence of insulin in vitro for up to 12 h. When isolated hepatocytes from diabetic rats were placed in primary culture in a serum-free defined medium over a 3-day period, glycogen synthesis was partially restored by cortisol and triiodothyronine and dramatically increased by insulin. Concomitant with restoration of [14C]glycogen synthesis was an insulin-mediated increase in glycogen synthase I and synthase phosphatase activity. Restoration of regulation of glycogen synthesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes from diabetic rats by insulin required the presence of cortisol and triiodothyronine. Primary cultures of hepatocytes from normal rats did not require triiodothyronine for insulin to effect glycogenesis over a 3-day period. These data demonstrate that insulin acts in a chronic manner in concert with other hormones to control synthase phosphatase activity, an effect which may be influencing acute control of hepatic glycogen synthesis.     

Interaction of sex steroids with proteins from the soluble fraction of swine and cattle liver (a preliminary analysis)]

The interactions of [3H]estradiol, [3H]testosterone and [3H]progesterone with soluble proteins from porcine and calf liver were studied. The specific binding of [3H]progesterone and [3H]testosterone in calf liver cytosol seems to be due to serum transcortin or its intracellular precursor (analog). Contrariwise, the specific binding of [3H]progesterone observed in porcine liver cytosol was absent in the serum. This binding was characterized by slow association and dissociation dynamics, moderate affinity for the [3H]-ligand and a high binding capacity. The structural determinants of the ligands were studied by competitive inhibition of the [3H]-ligand binding. The delta 4-3-keto group in the steroid A-ring was found to be the most important determinant. An intensive metabolism of [3H]progesterone was observed during its incubation with cytosol (data from thin-layer chromatography). A 3H-metabolite (presumably, 20 beta-dihydroprogesterone) was predominant in the bound ligand fraction. The data obtained suggest that proteins of a steromodulin type are widely distributed in the mammalian liver.     

Transcortin in rat kidney tissue: distribution in microsomal fractions

During chromatography of renal tissue cytosolic proteins on DEAE-cellulose the protein specifically binding [3H]corticosterone is eluted within the potassium phosphate concentration range of 0.08-0.10 M. Analysis of kidney slices revealed the synthesis of [3H]transcortin whose electrophoretic mobility was close to that of the blood plasma protein. Using radioimmunochemical methods, it has been found that transcortin-specific [125I]IgG antibodies interact with growing polypeptide chains of membrane-bound polyribosomes. Free polyribosomes do not bind antibodies against transcortin.     

Metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene and persistence of DNA adducts in the brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus).

1. The in vitro metabolism of [3H]benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and [14C]benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol (BP-7,8-diol) by liver of brown bullhead (Ictalurus nebulosus) was characterized, as was the formation and persistence of BP-DNA adducts in vivo. 2. Compared to rat liver microsomes, bullhead liver microsomes produced relatively larger amounts of BP-7,8-diol (predominantly the [-] enantiomer) and smaller amounts of of BP-7,8-diol (predominantly the [-] enantiomer) and smaller amounts of BP-4,5-diol. 3. BP phase I metabolites were efficiently converted by freshly isolated bullhead hepatocytes to conjugates, predominantly glucuronides. 4. BP-7,8-diol was metabolized by hepatocytes 4-fold more rapidly than was BP and was converted to approximately equal amounts of glucuronides, glutathione conjugates and sulfates. 5. BP-DNA adducts formed in bullhead liver with a lag time of several days and maximum adduct formation at 25-30 days. The major adduct was anti-BPDE-deoxyguanosine.     

The uptake and metabolism of chylomicron-remnant lipids by rat liver parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells in vitro.

The uptake and metabolism of chylomicron-remnant lipids by individual liver cell types was examined by incubating remnants with monolayer cultures of hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and endothelial cells from rat liver. Remnants were prepared in vitro from radiolabelled mesenteric-lymph chylomicra, utilizing either purified lipoprotein lipase from bovine milk, or plasma isolated from heparinized rats. The resulting particles contained [3H]phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol, and [14C]oleate in the acylglycerol, phospholipid, fatty-acid and cholesterol-ester fractions. The capacities of the three cell types for uptake of both [3H]lipids and [14C]lipids were determined to be, on a per-cell basis, in the order: Kupffer greater than hepatocytes greater than endothelial. The relative proportions of [3H]phospholipid and total [3H]cholesterol taken up by hepatocytes and non-parenchymal cells remained constant with time. The uptake of [14C]oleoyl lipids by all three cell types was slightly greater than that of the total [3H]cholesterol and [3H]phospholipid components. There was evidence of cholesterol-ester hydrolysis and turnover of [14C]oleate in the phospholipid fraction in hepatocytes and Kupffer cells, but not endothelial cells, over the first 2 h. With both remnant preparations, these observations indicate that significant differences exist between the three major liver cell types with respect to the uptake and metabolism of remnant lipid components.     

Binding of acetylated low density lipoprotein and maleylated bovine serum albumin to the rat liver: one or two receptors?

The liver is the major organ involved in clearance of acetylated low density lipoprotein (acetyl-LDL) and maleylated serum albumin (Mal-BSA). Quantitative analysis of the hepatic uptake by sequential scintigraphy in rats shows that the hepatic uptake capacity for Mal-BSA is at least 15 times larger than for acetyl-LDL particles. A membrane-associated M approximately 250,000 daltons hepatic receptor for acetyl-LDL and Mal-BSA was 1450-fold purified from total membrane by Triton X-114 solubilization, chromatography on polyethylenimine cellulose and gel filtration. This receptor incorporated into liposomes displayed a saturable binding of [131I]Mal-BSA with a dissociation constant Kd = 15 nM and to [131I]acetyl-LDL with a dissociation constant Kd = 0.9 nM. The binding of both ligands was sensitive to poly(vinyl sulfate). The purified scavenger receptor system has a binding capacity for [131I]Mal-BSA 20 times larger than for [131I]acetyl-LDL. This is similar to the maximal removal capacity of the rat liver for both ligands in vivo. Binding studies with Mal-BSA, acetyl-LDL and anti-idiotypic receptor antibodies as competitors for [131I]Mal-BSA and [131I]acetyl-LDL binding demonstrate that [131I]Mal-BSA and [131I]acetyl-LDL compete for a common binding site. However, not all of the Mal-BSA binding sites are capable of interacting with acetyl-LDL.