A specific decrease in collagen synthesis in acutely fasted, vitamin C-supplemented, guinea pigs

Weight loss often results from various experimental conditions including scurvy in guinea pigs, where we showed that decreased collagen synthesis was directly related to weight loss, rather than to defective proline hydroxylation (Chojkier, M., Spanheimer, R., and Peterkofsky, B. (1983) J. Clin. Invest. 72, 826-835). In the study described here, this effect was reproduced by acutely fasting normal guinea pigs receiving vitamin C, as determined by measuring collagen and non-collagen protein production after labeling tissues in vitro with [3H]proline. Collagen production (dpm/microgram of DNA) decreased soon after initiating fasting and by 96 h it had reached levels 8-12% of control values. Effects on non-collagen protein were much less severe, so that the percentage of collagen synthesis relative to total protein synthesis was 20-25% of control values after a 96-h fast. These effects were not due to changes in the specific radioactivity of free proline. Refeeding reversed the effects on non-collagen protein production within 24 h, but collagen production did not return to normal until 96 h. The effect of fasting on collagen production was independent of age, sex, ascorbate status, species of animal, and type of connective tissue and also was seen with in vivo labeling. Pulse-chase experiments and analysis of labeled and pre-existing proteins by gel electrophoresis showed no evidence of increased collagen degradation as a result of fasting. Procollagen mRNA was decreased in tissues of fasted animals as determined by cell-free translation and dot-blot hybridization with cDNA probes. In contrast, there was no decrease in translatable mRNAs for non-collagen proteins. These results suggest that loss of nutritional factors other than vitamin C lead to a rapid, specific decrease in collagen synthesis mainly through modulation of mRNA levels.     

Metabolism of rabbit skin collagen. Differences in the apparent turnover rates of type-I- and type-III-collagen precursors determined by constant intravenous infusion of labelled amino acids.

Growing rabbits were infused for up to 10 h with labelled proline, tyrosine and leucine to achieve plateau conditions within body free pools, for [3H]proline infusion, blood free-proline specific radioactivity remained constant after about 1 h. For individual animals, type-I- and type-III-collagen precursors were isolated by precipitation with (NH4)2SO4 and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Experiments where 3H- and 14C-labelled proline and tyrosine were infused concurrently for different periods of time showed that type I procollagen reached plateau specific radioactivity within 3 h and 90% of the plateau value after 2 h infusion, corresponding to a calculated apparent t 1/2 of less than 26 min. Plateau values for type I procollagen were taken as precursor amino acid pool specific radioactivities. The type-III-collagen-precursor fractions consistently showed lower rates of label incorporation and, by assuming that both type I and type III collagens are synthesized from the same amino acid pools, kinetic analysis revealed an apparent t 1/2 for the isolated type-III-collagen precursors of 3.9 h. For proline, there were large variations between animals in the ratio between the precursor pool for collagen synthesis and the skin homogenate free pool (0.31 +/- 0.13, mean +/- S.D.), so that collagen-synthesis rates based solely on total tissue free-pool values for proline are subject to large and inconsistent errors.     

Compartmentalization of proline pools and apparent rates of collagen and non-collagen protein synthesis in arterial smooth muscle cells in culture.

Rates of collagen and non-collagen protein synthesis in rabbit arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) were determined by using the specific (radio)activity of [3H]proline in the extracellular, intracellular, and prolyl-tRNA pools. The intracellular free proline specific activity was only 25% of the extracellular value in cultures incubated for 12 h in 0.25 mM-proline. The specific activity of prolyl-tRNA was less than 10% of the extracellular specific activity. Increasing the extracellular proline concentration 10-fold (to 2.5 mM), while keeping the extracellular specific activity of proline constant, resulted in equilibration of the specific activities of intracellular and extracellular free proline, but the specific activity of prolyl-tRNA remained at less than 10% of the extracellular specific activity. Therefore, calculated rates of collagen and non-collagen protein synthesis were greatly underestimated using the intracellular or extracellular specific activity of proline. SMC were also incubated with 0.1 mM-[14C]ornithine in 0.25 nM or 2.5 mM non-labelled proline to examine synthesis de novo of proline and prolyl-tRNA from ornithine. In SMC cultures containing 0.25 mM unlabelled proline, the specific activity of intracellular ornithine was approx. 45% of the extracellular specific activity, due to the production of unlabelled ornithine. The specific activity of ornithine-derived intracellular free proline in SMC incubated with 2.5 mM-proline was significantly lower than in SMC incubated in 0.25 mM-proline, due to the influx of unlabelled proline. However, a corresponding difference in the specific activity of [14C]prolyl-tRNA between SMC in 0.25 mM- or 2.5 mM-proline was not observed. Ornithine-derived [14C]proline was incorporated into proteins in a manner different from that of exogenously added radiolabelled proline. A much higher proportion of the proline synthesized de novo was channelled into collagen synthesis relative to total protein synthesis. Together, these results show that intracellular proline pools are highly compartmentalized in arterial SMC. They also suggest that proline synthesized from ornithine may enter a prolyl-tRNA pool separate from that of proline entering from the extracellular medium.     

Measurement of the synthesis rates of collagens and total protein in rabbit muscle.

1. Collagen- and total-protein-synthesis rates were determined in rabbit muscle by continuous infusion of radioactive proline. 2. The precursor pool of free proline used for collagen synthesis was defined by measuring the specific radioactivity of hydroxy-proline in isolated type I procollagen. The specific radioactivities of type I procollagen were about 40% of those for free proline in the homogenate. 3. The mean ratio (+/- S.E.M.) between the fractional synthesis rates of muscle collagen and total protein was 0.99 +/- 0.10, where the total protein values were based on specific radioactivities of the homogenate free proline pools. 4. Types I, III and V collagen were solubilized by pepsin and isolated by fractional precipitation with NaCl. The fractional synthesis rates of types I and III collagens were very similar. Type V collagen samples had higher specific radioactivities than the other collagens, but this was not necessarily indicative of a higher rate of synthesis because of uncertainty about the cellular origin of this collagen and, hence, the specific radioactivity of its precursor proline pool.     

Effect of colchicine on atherosclerosis. II. Biochemical studies on skin biopsies from patients treated perorally with colchicine

The biosynthesis of proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) was determined in skin biopsies from atherosclerotic patients treated perorally for 3 months with 1 mg/day colchicine. The biopsies were incubated with 3H-glucosamine and 14C-proline for 5 h and subsequently digested with pronase. In an aliquot of the pronase digest, the specific radioactivity of 14C-proline and 14C-hydroxyproline were determined. The 3H-glucosamine-labeled GAGs were identified by specific enzymic assay and quantified after electrophoretic separation. 3 months treatment with colchicine did not modify the total amounts of proline and hydroxyproline in skin proteins, but diminished the amount of the GAGs as expressed by uronic acid content. Colchicine treatment decreased also the specific radioactivity of proline and hydroxyproline, which reflects a decrease of total protein and collagen synthesis. The incorporation of 3H-glucosamine in the 3H-GAGs was also decreased, mainly in hyaluronic acid. These results suggest that peroral administration of colchicine modifies the synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins and polysaccharides by skin fibroblasts.     

Estimation of rRNA synthesis and degradation rates in senescing wheat leaves

Changes in cytoplasmic and chloroplast rRNA content and rates of rRNA synthesis and degradation of detached wheat leaves were determined. It was found that rRNA loss is proportionally higher in chloroplasts than in cytoplasm. Rates of synthesis were measured by incorporation of large amounts of [3H]orotic acid into rRNA. This approach overcame size differences between pyrimidine pools of cells under different physiological status. Furthermore, these pools reached nearly the same specific radioactivity as that of the administered solution. Rates of degradation were estimated either as the difference between synthesis and net variation of rRNA or by disappearance of radioactivity from 32P-labeled rRNA. Results indicated a decrease in the net rRNA synthesis capacity of leaves after 48 h of detachment. However, the fractional rates of rRNA synthesis were maintained in both cytoplasm and chloroplasts. Ribosomal RNA degradation rates were 2.5-fold higher in chloroplast than in cytoplasm. The observed chloroplast rRNA loss is due to an increased degradation rate which is 15-fold higher than the synthesis rate 48 h after detachment.     

Studies in vivo on the biosynthesis of collagen and elastin in ascorbic acid-deficient guinea pigs. Evidence for the formation and degradation of a partially hydroxylated collagen

1. After the administration of l-[G-(3)H]proline to guinea pigs deprived of ascorbic acid for increasing periods of time, the specific radioactivities of proline and hydroxyproline in skin collagen and aortic elastin were determined at various time-intervals after administration of the labelled compound with a view to studying the formation and degradation of collagen and elastin both deficient in hydroxyproline. 2. As judged from the incorporation of radioactivity into elastin proline, elastin synthesis was not decreased in the ascorbic acid-deficient animals. There was however, a rapid decline in the specific radioactivity of elastin hydroxyproline. The proline/hydroxyproline specific-radioactivity ratio was approx. 1.5:1 after 6 days and 20:1 after 12 days of ascorbic acid deprivation, in contrast with the ratio of 1:1 in controls. The results suggested that the effect of ascorbic acid deficiency on elastin biosynthesis could be regarded as simply an elimination of hydroxylation of elastin proline with the formation and retention of a polymer increasingly deficient in hydroxyproline. 3. Collagen proline and hydroxyproline specific radioactivities were derived from material that was soluble in hot trichloroacetic acid, non-diffusible and collagenase-degradable. In contrast with elastin, there was a rapid decline in the specific radioactivity of proline as well as hydroxyproline in collagen from the ascorbic acid-deficient animals. However, the proline/hydroxyproline specific-radioactivity ratio in all samples from scorbutic animals was consistently slightly above 1:1. The results suggest the appearance in place of collagen, but in rapidly diminishing amounts, of a partially hydroxylated collagen in which the degree of hydroxylation may be decreased only by approx. 10%. 4. Incorporation of radioactivity into the diffusible hydroxyproline in skin remained relatively high despite the rapid decline in the incorporation of radioactivity into collagen. This observation is interpreted as indicative of an increasing degree of degradation of partially hydroxylated collagen to diffusible peptides. An alternative explanation might be that partially hydroxylated peptides are released to an increasing extent from ribosomes before they attain a length at least sufficient to render them non-diffusible. In either case it implies the accumulation in scurvy of low-molecular-weight peptides enriched in proline and deficient in hydroxyproline and could explain the failure to accumulate a high-molecular-weight collagen deficient in hydroxyproline. 5. It is thought, however, that, in addition, an inhibition of ribosomal amino acid incorporation leading to decreased synthesis of partially hydroxylated collagen may also occur, perhaps secondarily to impaired hydroxylation.     

A microassay to quantitate collagen synthesis by cells in culture

A method to quantitate collagen synthesis, total protein synthesis, and DNA in 24-well culture plates is presented. Collagen-producing cells such as human intestinal smooth muscle cells and dermal fibroblasts were pulse-labeled with [3H]proline. After incubation, the plates were heated to 90 degrees C to stop isotope incorporation and sonicated to lyse the cells and an aliquot was removed for DNA quantitation. Carrier protein was added, all protein was precipitated by trichloroacetic acid, and unbound isotope was removed by repeated precipitations. After incubation with purified bacterial collagenase, both the soluble 3H-labeled collagen-derived peptides and the remaining insoluble 3H-labeled noncollagen protein were quantified. Results were expressed as the amount of radioactivity incorporated into collagen and noncollagen protein per nanogram DNA and also as the percentage of collagen synthesis per total protein synthesized. The advantage of this technique over previous attempts to scale down the assay is that the entire assay for DNA, collagen, and non-collagen protein can be carried out in the same well without any transfer of material. This technique also provides a significant savings of culture medium, serum, growth factors, and cell material.     

Turnover of muscle protein in the fowl (Gallus domesticus). Rates of protein synthesis in fast and slow skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle of the adult fowl.

Rates of protein synthesis in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle of fully grown fowl (Gallus domesticus) were determined in vivo by means of the constant infusion method using [14C]proline. In the anterior latissimus dorsi muscle, containing predominantly slow fibres, the average synthesis rate of non-collagen muscle proteins was 17.0 +/- 3.1% per day, a value higher than that obtained for cardiac muscle (13.8 +/- 1.3% per day) and for smooth muscle of the gizzard (12.0 +/- 1.9% per day). In the posterior latissimus dorsi muscle, containing predominantly fast fibres, synthesis rates were much lower (6.9 +/- 1.8% per day). In each case these average rates for the non-collagen protein were similar to the average rate for the sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein fractions. The RNA concentration of these four muscles showed that relative rates of protein synthesis were determined mainly by the relative RNA concentrations. The rate of protein synthesis per unit of DNA (the DNA activity) was similar in the two skeletal muscles, but somewhat lower in cardiac muscle and gizzard, possibly reflecting the larger proportion of less active cell types in these two muscles. These quantitative aspects of protein turnover in the two skeletal muscles are discussed in terms of the determination of ultimate size of the DNA unit, and in relation to muscle ultrastructure.     

Modulation of types I and III procollagen synthesis at various stages of arterial smooth muscle cell growth in vitro

Collagen synthesis was monitored in cultures of rabbit arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC). Both the rate of collagen synthesis per cell and collagen synthesis as a percent of total protein synthesis were measured at specific intervals from 1 to 14 days after inoculation of smooth muscle cells. The proportions of types I and III collagen present in the conditioned incubation medium and in the cell layer were also examined. After inoculation the cells displayed population expansion typical of SMC in which growth slowed but did not cease after the cells attained confluence. Collagen synthesis rates, expressed as [14C]hydroxyproline per cell, were eight-fold higher in preconfluent cells. In these cultures collagen accounted for more than 20% of the newly synthesized, 14C-labeled protein present as trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-insoluble material in 24 h culture media. In post-confluent cultures, this percentage was reduced to about 7% of the total protein synthesized. Synthesis rates of both collagen and non-collagen protein decreased with increasing time after inoculation. However, the rate of decline of collagen synthesis was three times greater than that seen for non-collagen protein. Early cultures synthesized relatively more type I than type III procollagen. The type I to type III ratio was highest at day 3 and declined after that time to day 14. While the synthesis of both types decreased with increasing age, type I declined at a greater rate resulting in a predominance of type III procollagen secretion by older cultures. We conclude that protein synthesis in general and collagen synthesis in particular are quantitatively and qualitatively dependent upon the growth stage of SMC in vitro.     

The effect of oxygen partial pressure on protein synthesis and collagen hydroxylation by mature periodontal tissues maintained in organ cultures

Mature periodontal tissues from adult-mouse first mandibular molars were cultured in a continuous-flow organ-culture system which allowed the regulation of both ascorbic acid concentration and pO(2) (oxygen partial pressure). Protein synthesis was measured by analysing the incorporation of [(3)H]proline into collagenous and non-collagenous proteins during the last 24h of a 2-day culture. At low pO(2) [16.0kPa (approx. 120mmHg)] approx. 60% of protein-incorporated [(3)H]proline was found in collagenous proteins. However, it was evident that this collagen was considerably underhydroxylated. At high pO(2) [56.0kPa (approx. 420mmHg)], both the amount of collagen deposited in the tissues and the degree of hydroxylation were increased considerably. In contrast, no significant effect on non-collagenous protein was observed. Tissues cultured at low pO(2) for the first 48h were unable to respond to a subsequent increase in pO(2) during the last 24h. Analysis of pepsin-solubilized collagen alpha-chains labelled with [(14)C]glycine demonstrated the synthesis of both type-I and type-III collagens by explants cultured for 48h at high pO(2). Type-III collagen comprised 20-30% of the radioactivity in alpha-chains in both the periodontal ligament and the tissues of the alveolar process. The pattern of protein synthesis in the alveolar tissues at high pO(2) was similar to that observed in these tissues in vivo. However, in the cultured periodontal ligament the proportions of non-collagenous proteins and type-III collagens were increased in comparison with the tissue in vivo.     

Effects of hyperlipoproteinemic serum and exogenous proline concentration on collagen synthesis by isolated rabbit aortas.

Collagen synthesis was measured in segments of normal rabbit aorta, incubated in vitro, by monitoring the formation of peptidyl-14C-hydroxyproline from [U-14C]-L-proline added to the incubation medium. The effect of hyperlipoproteinemic rabbit serum on the rate of collagen synthesis was compared with the effect of normal rabbit serum. No differences in the rates of synthesis were detected between the two batches of serum, despite a 60-fold difference in serum cholesterol concentration. Increases in free proline concentration in the incubation medium resulted in changes in proline flux between medium and tissue pools of free proline, but medium proline concentration had no effect on the rate of collagen synthesis.     

A METHOD FOR MEASURING BRAIN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS RATES IN YOUNG AND ADULT RATS

The injection of large quantities of radioactive amino acid precursor is proposed as a technique for determining rates of cerebral protein synthesis in vivo. In this way the specific radioactivity of the amino acid precursor in the brain is maintained at a relatively constant level for at least 2 h. Injections of 10–15 μ mol of valine per g body weight result in nearly constant rates of incorporation of radioactivity and do not appear to inhibit cerebral protein synthesis in adult or young (2–6 day old) rat brain. Similar rates were obtained in young rat brain with lysine and histidine. Rates of protein synthesis in cerebral hemisphere were for 2-day-olds 2·1 per cent replacement of protein bound amino acid per h and for adult 0·62 per cent per h. Advantages and disadvantages of the procedure are discussed.     

Amino acid metabolism of experimental granulation tissue in vitro

1. The intracellular volume in granulation tissue was about 15% of the total urea space. 2. The experimental granuloma has a greater ability to retain amino acids during the proliferation phase than later during the synthesis of collagen. 3. The synthesis of collagen and other proteins by granulation tissue is related to the concentrations of proline and glutamic acid in the medium. 4. The rate of synthesis of proline from glutamic acid in granulation-tissue slices is greatest during collagen synthesis. It is enhanced by lactate. 5. Extracellular cations influence the synthesis of collagen and ouabain is inhibitory. Synthesis of other proteins is less sensitive in this respect. 6. It is suggested that the synthesis of collagen is related to the supply of certain amino acids, especially proline, and hence to the redox balance, and also to the function of the cell wall.     

The inhibitory action of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) in the presence of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor on protein synthesis in vivo and the partial amelioration of this by methionine supplementation.

Male Wistar rats of various age groups were injected daily over a period of 3 weeks with iproniazid (10 micrograms/g body wt.) and L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa; 0.1 mg/g body wt.). On the final day 1 h before the termination of the experiment the animals were injected with L-[14C]valine (0.1 microCi/g body wt.). The specific radioactivity of the valine in the proteins of the subcellular fractions of the tissues examined, relative to the time-integrated mean specific radioactivity of this amino acid in the acid-soluble pools of these tissues, was used to assess protein synthesis. The L-dopa/monoamine oxidase-inhibitor treatment was associated with 30--40% inhibition of protein synthesis. Supplementation of the dietary methionine intake by injection of this amino acid markedly diminished the inhibitory action of the L-dopa/monoamine oxidase-inhibitor treatment on protein synthesis in all fractions examined.     

Ethanol-induced inhibition of ventricular protein synthesis in vivo and the possible role of acetaldehyde

We have determined the extent to which acute ethanol administration perturbs the synthesis of ventricular contractile and non-contractile proteins in vivo. Male Wistar rats were treated with a standard dose of ethanol (75 mmol kg^?1 body weight; i.p.). Controls were treated with isovolumetric amounts of saline (0·15 mol 1^?1 NaCl). Two metabolic inhibitors of ethanol metabolism were also used namely 4-methylpyrazole (alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor) and cyanamide (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor) which in ethanol-dosed rats have been shown to either decrease or increase acetaldehyde formation, respectively. After 2·5 h, fractional rates of protein synthesis (i.e. the percentage of tissue protein renewed each day) were measured with a large (i.e. ‘flooding’) dose of L -[4-³H]phenylalanine (150 μmol (100 g)^?1 body weight into a lateral vein). This dose of phenylalanine effectively floods all endogenous free amino acid pools so that the specific radioactivity of the free amino acid at the site of protein synthesis (i.e. the amino acyl tRNA) is reflected by the specific radioactivity of the free amino acid in acid-soluble portions of cardiac homogenates. The results showed that ethanol alone and ethanol plus 4-methylpyrazole decreased the fractional rates of mixed, myofibrillar (contractile) and sarcoplasmic (non-contractile) protein synthesis to the same extent (by approx. 25 per cent). Profound inhibition (i.e. 80 per cent) in the fractional rates of mixed, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis occurred when cyanamide was used to increase acetaldehyde formation. There was also a significant decrease in cardiac DNA content. The results suggest that acute ethanol-induced cardiac injury in the rat may be mediated by both acetaldehyde and ethanol.     

Synthesis and degradation rates of collagens in vivo in whole skin of rats, studied with 1802 labelling.

Rats of synthesis and degradation in vivo of collagens in 0.5 M-acetic acid-soluble and -insoluble extracts from skins of three growing rats were determined by using a labelling procedure involving exposure of the animals to an atmosphere of 18O2 for 36 h. For comparison, rats also received injections of [2H]proline. Serial skin biopsies were taken at frequent intervals over 392 days. Enrichment of 18O and 2H in the hydroxyproline of the collagen fractions was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Changes in size of the soluble and insoluble collagen pools were considered in the evaluation of isotope kinetic data. The insoluble collagen fraction showed no degradation. The efflux (mean +/- S.D., expressed as mumol of hydroxyproline) from the soluble collagen pool was estimated to be 59.9 +/- 1.9 per day from the 18O data, and 25.5 +/- 7.5 per day from the 2H results. The finding indicates significant reutilization of 2H-radiolabelled proline for hydroxyproline synthesis. From these isotope data and estimates of size of the collagen pools it was determined that 55% of the collagen disappearing from the soluble pool was due to maturation into insoluble collagens and 45% of the disappearance was a result of actual degradation of soluble collagen. These results confirm the utility of 18O2 as a non-reutilizable label for studies of collagen turnover in vivo.     

Collagen synthesis by monkey arterial smooth muscle cells during proliferation and quiescence in culture

Monkey arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) which are stimulated to proliferate in the presence of 5% monkey blood serum (MBS) and which remain quiescent in 5% monkey platelet-poor plasma serum (MPPPS) were examined for their ability to synthesize collagen in each of these conditions in culture. Collagen synthesis was measured by determining amounts of newly formed labeled hydroxyproline, following labelling in the presence of [³H]proline and ascorbic acid. Ascorbate requirements of SMC were examined to assure maximal hydroxylation. SMC synthesize the same amount of collagen/cell in 5% whole blood serum (MBS) during the early phase of rapid proliferation as during slow growth in later phases in culture. SMC grown in the presence of serum-lacking platelet factors synthesize 60–90% less collagen and 60–90% less non-collagen protein (per cell or per mg protein) than cells grown in MBS. Non-collagen protein synthesis was measured as incorporation of both [³H]proline and of [³H]leucine, determined as trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-precipitable material. Previous studies indicate that a factor derived from platelets is the principal mitogen present in whole blood serum for diploid cells such as SMC and fibroblasts in culture. Similarly derived factors are potent stimulators of both collagen and non-collagen protein synthesis by SMC. SMC, quiescent in medium lacking platelet derived material (MPPPS), is being used to investigate factors important in SMC proliferation since this is a significant event in atherogenesis in vivo. An increased deposition of collagen also occurs during atherogenesis. Consequently it will be useful to employ similar cultures of quiescent SMC to examine agents which affect production of this connective tissue matrix protein.