Effects of cortisol on lipid and lipoprotein synthesis in rat hepatocytes]

Under in vivo conditions cortisol induces moderate hyperlipidemia followed by an increase in the phospholipid and triglyceride concentrations in the blood and a decrease of cholesterol; similar changes were observed in the liver. At all time intervals studied cortisol inhibits the phospholipid and cholesterol syntheses and decreases the specific radioactivities of the lipids in the mitochondrial fraction. The hormone has an inhibiting effect on the fatty acid synthesis at early postinjection stages. The phospholipid synthesis is increased after adrenalectomy and is then inhibited after injection of the hormone. A single injection of ACTH or cortisol causes suppression of phospholipid and cholesterol syntheses and a decrease in their specific radioactivities in the mitochondria. A similar effect is observed under stress conditions. In addition, the hormone inhibits the synthesis of lipoprotein apoproteins of very low and high densities. After 5 hours following the hormone injection the lipoprotein apoprotein synthesis in the liver is activated; the activation of apoprotein synthesis is also observed after adrenalectomy. However, the injection of the hormone to adrenalectomized rats decreases the apoprotein synthesis. It was shown that in blood serum cortisol affects the conversions of very low density lipoproteins into low density lipoproteins, thus providing for hyperlipidemia.     

The effects of adrenalectomy and of hydrocortisone administration on adenylate cyclase activity in rabbit adipose cells (author's transl)]

Adenylate cyclase activity in rabbit adipocyte plasma membranes was studied with special reference to the effects of adrenalectomy and administration of cortisol in vivo. Adrenalectomy was accompanied by an increase in adenylate cyclase activity during basal conditions; cortisol (5 mg/kg body wt., intramuscularly) partly prevents this effect of adrenalectomy. The response of adenylate cyclase to corticotropin, epinephrine and norepinephrine stimulation was higher in the adrenalectomized rabbit than in the sham operated animal. Our in vitro results were in agreement with the striking fat mobilization observed in rabbit plasma after adrenalectomy and with the hypolipemic effects of cortisol we had previously observed in both normal and adrenalectomized rabbit.     

Cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone and apolipoprotein synthesis in rat hepatocytes]

The influence of cortisol (5 mg/kg body wt administered daily for 5 and 10 days) on biosynthesis of apoproteins of lipoproteins of very low density in the liver and on the synthesis of apolipoproteins of very low, low, and high density (VLDL, LDL, and HDL apoproteins, respectively) in the blood serum of adrenalectomized animals, and after replacement cortisol therapy was studied. Cortisol treatment during these periods resulted in the VLDL apoproteins biosynthesis inhibition in the rat liver. The synthesis of apolipoproteins was increased by adrenalectomy; this effect was eliminated after replacement cortisol treatment. The apoprotein synthesis was stimulated within 5 hours by single injection of cortisol or ACTH. Study of the blood serum apolipoproteins specific radioactivity indicated metabolic change of lipoproteins, such as disturbed conversion from VLDL to LDL. Single and prolonged cortisol administration led to the opposite results. The authors believe that the metabolic disturbances of lipoproteins in the blood play a more important role in the pathogenesis of cortisol-induced hyperlipidemia than lipoprotein syntesis stimulation in the liver.     

The role of glucocorticoids in the regulation of the diurnal rhythm of hepatic beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase.

The microsomal activities of the hepatic enzymes hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase exhibit a diurnal rhythm with maximum activities observed during the dark period and minimum activities around noon (12:00h). This diurnal rhythm was maintained for both enzymes after adrenalectomy, but the amplitude of variation for the activity of both enzymes was greatly decreased. A single injection of cortisol administered to adrenalectomized rats 3h before the expected maximum in enzyme activity resulted in a twofold increase in the activity of both enzymes 3h later, at values similar to those observed for control rats killed at the same time. This response appeared to require protein synthesis, since it was blocked by actinomycin D. However, the administration of cortisol to adrenalectomized rats 3 h before the expected minimum did not result in significant change in the activity of hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase 3 h later. Kinetic studies of cholic acid metabolism in vivo demonstrated that adrenalectomy results in a significant decrease in the rate of synthesis of cholic acid and a considerable decrease in the pool size of cholic acid and its metabolic products. Treatment of adrenalectomized rats with cortisol increased the rate oonsistent with the effects of adrenalectomy and cortisol treatment on the activity of cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase.     

Effects of adrenalectomy on hormone action on hepatic glucose metabolism. Impaired glucagon activation of glycogen phosphorylase in hepatocytes from adrenalectomized rats.

The effects of adrenalectomy on glucagon activation of liver glycogen phosphorylase and glycogenolysis were studied in isolated hepatocytes. Adrenalectomy resulted in reduced responsiveness of glycogenolysis and phosphorylase to glucagon activation. Stimulation of cAMP accumulation and cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity by glucagon was unaltered in cells from adrenalectomized rats. Adrenalectomy did not alter the proportion of type I and type II protein kinase isozymes in liver, whereas this was changed by fasting. Activation of phosphorylase kinase by glucagon was reduced in hepatocytes from adrenalectomized rats, although the half-maximal effective concentration of glucagon was unchanged. No difference in phosphorylase phosphatase activity between liver cells from control and adrenalectomized rats was detected. Glucagon-activated phosphorylase declined rapidly in hepatocytes from adrenalectomized rats, whereas the time course of cAMP increase in response to glucagon was normal. Addition of glucose (15 mM) rapidly inactivated glucagon-stimulated phosphorylase in both adrenalectomized and control rat hepatocytes. The inactivation by glucose was reversed by increasing glucagon concentration in cells from control rats, but was accelerated in cells from adrenalectomized rats. It is concluded that impaired activation of phosphorylase kinase contributes to the reduced glucagon stimulation of hepatic glycogenolysis in adrenalectomized rats. The possible role of changes in phosphorylase phosphatase is discussed.     

Activation of nucleolar DNA expression in hepatocytes by glucocorticoids and high density lipoproteins

A novel mechanism of protein biosynthesis regulation in liver under the action of reduced forms of steroid hormones (tetrahydrocortisol) and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) is presented. Kupffer cells play an important role in uptake of the cortisol and high density lipoproteins (HDL) as well as in formation of the active complex, tetrahydrocortisol+apolipoprotein A-I (THC-apoA-I). If macrophages are stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS), these processes enhance dramatically, thus causing parallel activation of nucleolar DNA expression and ribosome formation in hepatocytes. THC-apoA-I complex accelerates protein biosynthesis in primary cultures of hepatocytes, but not in macrophages and endotheliocytes.     

Effects of androgen and polyamines on the phosphorylation of nucleolar proteins from rat ventral prostates with particular reference to 110-kDa phosphoprotein

The effects of testosterone (in vivo) and polyamines (in vitro) on the phosphorylation of nucleolar proteins of rat ventral prostates were studied. Phosphorylation of nucleolar proteins was accomplished by incubation of isolated nucleoli with [gamma-32P]ATP at 37 degrees C for 10 min followed by electrophoretic separation and autoradiographic demonstration of phosphorylated proteins. Of several nucleolar phosphoproteins observed in ventral prostates of castrated rats, the incorporation of 32P into 110-kDa protein was remarkably augmented by the testosterone treatment. The stimulation became evident as early as 4 h after the injection of the hormones, reaching 3-4-fold of the control level and was efficiently prevented by cycloheximide injection 3 h before killing. 5 alpha-Dihydrotestosterone gave similar results to testosterone, but estradiol-17 beta failed to stimulate the phosphorylation of 110-kDa protein. Polyamines and cyclic nucleotides did not affect the phosphorylation, but, when phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride was omitted from the standard medium, spermine and spermidine showed a distinct effect: 110-kDa phosphoprotein was completely abolished with a concomitant increase of 59-kDa phosphoprotein in both cases of castrated and testosterone-primed rats. The effect of polyamines seems to be due to the stimulation of degradation of the protein which is presumably catalyzed by a serine protease.     

The Ag-NOR proteins and transcription and duplication of ribosomal genes in mammalian cell nucleoli

The relationship between the Ag-NOR (silver-stained Nucleolar Organizer Region) proteins and the functional-structural organization of the nucleolar ribosomal chromatin was studied in regenerating and cortisol-stimulated rat hepatocytes. Statistical analysis of Ag-NOR proteins, carried out with an automated image analyzer, indicated that in regenerating rat hepatocytes the quantity of Ag-NOR proteins mainly increased between the 4th and 12th h of regeneration, reaching a level twice that of resting hepatocytes. Also the synthesis of pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) was stimulated after the 4th h of regeneration. Cycloheximide administered to rats at a dose of 0.025 mg/100 g body weight (bw) prevented any increase in Ag-NOR proteins but did not hinder the stimulation of pre-rRNA synthesis. In 8 h cortisol-stimulated hepatocytes no significant change in amount of Ag-NOR protein was observed whereas pre-rRNA synthesis was highly increased as in 12 h regenerating hepatocytes. These results indicated that in rat hepatocytes Ag-NOR proteins and stimulation of pre-rRNA synthesis are not related. The relationship between the Ag-NOR proteins and the distribution of the completely extended intranucleolar ribosomal chromatin was also studied in regenerating rat hepatocytes. At 12 h after partial hepatectomy an increased amount of completely extended ribosomal chromatin was observed, contemporaneously with an increased quantity of Ag-NOR proteins. These ribosomal chromatin changes preceded the beginning of DNA synthesis and were prevented by cycloheximide-induced inhibition of protein synthesis.     

Simultaneous activation of heat shock protein (hsp 70) and nucleolin genes during in vivo and in vitro prereplicative stages of rat hepatocytes.

Rapidly growing cells usually have high levels of ribosome biogenesis. The sequential expression of protooncogenes during the transition of quiescent hepatocytes to the replicative stage was assumed to be followed by activation of cellular genes related to cell growth such as ribosome biosynthesis. First, the expression of major nucleolar protein (nucleolin or C23) and major heat-shock protein (hsp 70) genes was examined during rat liver regeneration. hsp 70 may function in cell growth and has a characteristic nucleolar location after heat shock. Both nucleolin and hsp 70 mRNA began to increase simultaneously after peaks of c-fos and c-myc, showed a peak 6 h after partial hepatectomy, and declined to the control levels around 20 h. That is, the peaks of nucleolin and hsp 70 mRNA precede the peak of ribosome formation (12-20 h) and DNA replication (24 h). Second, the behavior of nucleolin and hsp 70 mRNA was examined in primary cultured hepatocytes during their G0-G1 transition. Although the amounts of c-myc mRNA reached a plateau around 20 h after the initiation of culture and remained at these levels, DNA synthesis has never been found to start without the addition of EGF and insulin to this system. Both nucleolin and hsp 70 mRNA began to increase at around 20 h (prereplicative stage) and simultaneously decreased in inverse proportion to DNA synthesis induced by these growth factors. Thus, it is possible that the simultaneous enhancement of nucleolin and hsp 70 genes as described above is not merely coincidental, but is important biologically during the transition of quiescent hepatocytes to proliferative cells.     

Effect of adrenalectomy on cellular calcium metabolism and on the response to adrenergic stimulation of hepatocytes isolated from male and female rats

The effects of adrenalectomy on cell calcium metabolism and on the effects of epinephrine on cAMP, phosphorylase a activity, and calcium efflux were studied in hepatocytes isolated from adult male and female rats. Adrenalectomy increased the total calcium of hepatocytes, all exchangeable calcium pools, and all calcium fluxes between the cellular pools in both sexes. After adrenalectomy, basal cAMP was elevated, phosphorylase a + b was decreased, but basal phosphorylase a activity was not changed. In adrenalectomized males and at all concentrations of epinephrine studied (1·10^?8?1·10^?5M) stimulation of calcium efflux was decreased and cAMP accumulation was enhanced, while the resulting phosphorylase a activation was depressed. In hepatocytes from adrenalectomized females there was a similar increase in cAMP accumulation induced by epinephrine, and a decrease in the stimulation of calcium efflux; however, the depression in phosphorylase a activation was much less and was significant only at 1·10^?8 and 1·10^?5M epinephrine. In the male, while activation of phosphorylase a shifted from a pure α-adrenergic response mediated by calcium to one also involving a cAMP-mediated β-adrenergic response, the contribution of the attenuated calcium signal was still significant. Hepatocytes from female rats did not show a comparable α- to β-shift, since the relative contribution of calcium and cAMP to phosphorylase activation was similar in sham-operated and adrenalectomized animals.     

Bioactivity of glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors that bind to the purine nucleoside site

The bioactivity in hepatocytes of glycogen phosphorylase inhibitors that bind to the active site, the allosteric activator site and the indole carboxamide site has been described. However, the pharmacological potential of the purine nucleoside inhibitor site has remained unexplored. We report the chemical synthesis and bioactivity in hepatocytes of four new olefin derivatives of flavopiridol (1-4) that bind to the purine site. Flavopiridol and 1-4 counteracted the activation of phosphorylase in hepatocytes caused by AICAR (5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-beta-D-ribofuranoside), which is metabolised to an AMP analogue. Unlike an indole carboxamide inhibitor, the analogues 1 and 4 suppressed the basal rate of glycogenolysis in hepatocytes by allosteric inhibition rather than by inactivation of phosphorylase, and accordingly caused negligible stimulation of glycogen synthesis. However, they counteracted the stimulation of glycogenolysis by dibutyryl cAMP by both allosteric inhibition and inactivation of phosphorylase. Cumulatively, the results show key differences between purine site and indole carboxamide site inhibitors in terms of (i) relative roles of dephosphorylation of phosphorylase-a as compared with allosteric inhibition, (ii) counteraction of the efficacy of the inhibitors on glycogenolysis by dibutyryl-cAMP and (iii) stimulation of glycogen synthesis.     

Relation of the biosynthesis of intracellular and export proteins in rat liver cells during induction of proliferation by cycloheximide

After a single injection of a sublethal dose of cycloheximide (CHI) the biosynthesis of extracellular proteins in rat hepatocytes was rapidly suppressed, the reconstitution being very slow. On the contrast, the biosynthesis of intracellular proteins (e.g., histones, and other acid-soluble liver proteins) was more resistant to CHI. The activation of biosynthesis of acid-soluble and acid-insoluble proteins was found to occur stepwise. It was assumed that the activation of synthesis and accumulation of intracellular proteins after CHI release accompanied by a decreased synthesis of extracellular proteins is one of possible causes of stimulation of DNA synthesis in the hepatocytes following a single injection of CHI.     

The effects of adrenalectomy on the alpha-adrenergic regulation of cytosolic free calcium in hepatocytes

We have previously published that bilateral adrenalectomy in the rat reduces the Ca2+-mediated alpha-adrenergic activation of hepatic glycogenolysis, while it increases the cellular calcium content of hepatocytes. In the experiments presented here, the concentration of cytosolic free calcium (Ca2+i) at rest and in response to epinephrine was measured in aequorin-loaded hepatocytes isolated from sham and adrenalectomized male rats. We found that in adrenalectomized rats the resting Ca2+i was elevated, the rise in Ca2+i evoked by epinephrine was reduced, and the rise in 45Ca efflux that follows such stimulation was depressed. Furthermore, the slope of the relationship between Ca2+i and calcium efflux was decreased 60% in adrenalectomized. Adrenalectomy did not change Ca2+ release from intracellular calcium pools in response to IP3 in saponin-permeabilized hepatocytes. The EC50 for inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and the maximal Ca2+ released were similar in both sham and adrenalectomized animals. Finally, the liver calmodulin content determined by radioimmunoassay was not significantly different between sham and adrenalectomized rats. These results suggest that 1) adrenalectomy reduces calcium efflux from the hepatocyte, probably by an effect on the plasma membrane (Ca2+-Mg2+)-ATPase-dependent Ca2+ pump and thus alters cellular calcium homeostasis; 2) adrenalectomy decreases the rise in Ca2+i in response to epinephrine; 3) this decreased rise in Ca2+i is not due to defects in the intracellular Ca2+ storage and mobilization processes; and 4) the effects of adrenalectomy on cellular calcium metabolism and on alpha-adrenergic activation of glycogenolysis are not caused by a reduction in soluble calmodulin.     

The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Cascade Activation Is a Key Signalling Pathway Involved in the Regulation of G1 Phase Progression in Proliferating Hepatocytes

In this study, activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling pathway was analyzed in proliferating rat hepatocytes both in vivo after partial hepatectomy and in vitro following epidermal growth factor (EGF)-pyruvate stimulation. First, a biphasic MEK/ERK activation was evidenced in G(1) phase of hepatocytes from regenerating liver but not from sham-operated control animals. One occurred in early G(1) (30 min to 4 h), and the other occurred in mid-late G(1), peaking at around 10.5 h. Interestingly, the mid-late G(1) activation peak was located just before cyclin D1 induction in both in vivo and in vitro models. Second, the biological role of the MEK/ERK cascade activation in hepatocyte progression through the G(1)/S transition was assessed by adding a MEK inhibitor (PD 98059) to EGF-pyruvate-stimulated hepatocytes in primary culture. In the presence of MEK inhibitor, cyclin D1 mRNA accumulation was inhibited, DNA replication was totally abolished, and the MEK1 isoform was preferentially targeted by this inhibition. This effect was dose dependent and completely reversed by removing the MEK inhibitor. Furthermore, transient transfection of hepatocytes with activated MEK1 construct resulted in increased cyclin D1 mRNA accumulation. Third, a correlation between the mid-late G(1) MEK/ERK activation in hepatocytes in vivo after partial hepatectomy and the mitogen-independent proliferation capacity of these cells in vitro was established. Among hepatocytes isolated either 5, 7, 9, 12 or 15 h after partial hepatectomy, only those isolated from 12- and 15-h regenerating livers were able to replicate DNA without additional growth stimulation in vitro. In addition, PD 98059 intravenous administration in vivo, before MEK activation, was able to inhibit DNA replication in hepatocytes from regenerating livers. Taken together, these results show that (i) early induction of the MEK/ERK cascade is restricted to hepatocytes from hepatectomized animals, allowing an early distinction of primed hepatocytes from those returning to quiescence, and (ii) mid-late G(1) MEK/ERK activation is mainly associated with cyclin D1 accumulation which leads to mitogen-independent progression of hepatocytes to S phase. These results allow us to point to a growth factor dependency in mid-late G(1) phase of proliferating hepatocytes in vivo as observed in vitro in proliferating hepatocytes and argue for a crucial role of the MEK/ERK cascade signalling pathway.     

Co-ordinated changes in the cyclic AMP signalling system and the phosphorylation of two nuclear proteins of Mr 130,000 and 110,000 during proliferative stimulation of the rat parotid gland by isoprenaline. Possible identity of the two proteins with pp135 and nucleolin.

Parotid glands were stimulated to growth by repeated injection of the beta-agonist isoprenaline into rats. Incubation of intact parotid-gland lobules with [32P]Pi and subsequent analysis of nuclear proteins revealed in the stimulated glands an increased 32P incorporation into two acid-soluble non-histone proteins with apparent Mr values of 110,000 and 130,000 (p110 and p130). After a single injection of isoprenaline, leading to a biphasic increase in DNA synthesis (maximum at 24 h), the same two proteins showed a transiently increased 32P incorporation at 17 h after injection. At this time point at the onset of DNA synthesis the total activity of soluble cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase decreased. No change in p110/p130 phosphorylation was observed at 0.3 h after stimulation, a time of maximal stimulation of secretion. Administration of the beta-antagonist propranolol 8 h after the injection of isoprenaline suppressed the increase in DNA synthesis, the preceding changes in the concentration of cyclic AMP and in the activity of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, as well as the increased phosphorylation of p110 and p130. Cross-reactivity of p110 and p130 with specific antisera against two nucleolar phosphoproteins of similar molecular mass (nucleolin and pp135), as well as their localization in a nucleolar cell fraction, indicated a possible identity of p110 and p130 with these two proteins. Our results suggest that nucleolin and pp135 are nuclear target proteins of cyclic AMP in the cyclic AMP-influenced regulation of the transition of cells from the G1 to the S phase.