Immunodetection of aldose reductase in normal and diseased human liver.

Aldose reductase is an NADPH-dependent aldo-keto reductase best known as the rate-limiting enzyme of the polyol pathway that is implicated in the complications of diabetes. Aldose reductase appears to be involved in a variety of disease states other than diabetes, presumably due to its ability to catalyze the reduction of a broad spectrum of aldehydes, including some cytotoxic products of lipid peroxidation. Although the data regarding expression of aldose reductase in normal liver are conflicting, prior studies have suggested that the enzyme may be induced in diseased liver. The goal of these studies was to characterize expression of aldose reductase in normal and diseased human liver, using RT-PCR, Western analysis and immunohistochemistry. Aldose reductase transcripts and protein were detected at low levels in control human livers. In contrast, levels of aldose reductase mRNA and protein were increased in chronically diseased human livers. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated localization of aldose reductase in sinusoidal lining cells; dual immunofluorescence confocal microscopy with the macrophage marker, CD68, confirmed that the aldose reductase-positive sinusoidal lining cells were Kupffer cells. Abundant aldose reductase-positive, CD68-positive cells were present in the fibrous septa of cirrhotic livers, accounting for the increase in immunoreactive aldose reductase in diseased livers. Immunostaining of human lung, spleen and lymph node revealed that macrophages in those tissues also express aldose reductase. These data are the first to demonstrate that aldose reductase is expressed by human macrophages in various tissues and suggest that this enzyme may play a role in immune or inflammatory processes.

GP73, a novel Golgi-localized protein upregulated by viral infection.

We report the isolation and characterization of GP73, a novel 73kDa human Golgi protein. The GP73 cDNA was cloned by differential screening of a cDNA library derived from the liver of a patient with adult giant-cell hepatitis (GCH), a rare form of hepatitis with presumed viral etiology. In vitro transcription-translation studies indicate that GP73 is an integral membrane protein, and immunolocalization experiments using epitope-tagged GP73 demonstrate that the protein is localized to the Golgi apparatus. Northern blot analysis of RNA from multiple human tissues reveals a single GP73 mRNA transcript with a size of approximately 3.0kb. Immunohistochemical studies using rabbit polyclonal antisera directed against recombinant GP73 demonstrate that the protein is preferentially expressed by epithelial cells in many human tissues. In normal livers, GP73 is consistently present in biliary epithelial cells, whereas hepatocytes show little or no signal. In contrast, livers of patients with GCH display strong GP73 immunoreactivity in multinucleated hepatocytes. GP73 mRNA and protein are expressed in highly differentiated HepG2 hepatoma cells after infection with adenovirus in vitro. We conclude that GP73 represents a novel, epithelial cell-specific integral membrane Golgi protein that can be upregulated in response to viral infection.

A case of syncytial giant cell hepatitis with features of a paramyxoviral infection.

Adult syncytial giant cell hepatitis (GCH) is an uncommon and often fulminant form of hepatitis that may be caused by infection with a novel paramyxo-like virus. We present the case of a 69-yr-old man who presented with acute, community-acquired hepatitis and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A liver biopsy showed the typical findings of panlobular syncytial giant cell hepatitis. Electron microscopic examination demonstrated abundant nucleocapsid-like protein material in the cytoplasm and nuclei of affected hepatocytes. These structures were similar to, but distinct from, those of known paramyxoviridae, suggesting infection with a novel, related virus. In situ hybridization studies with a probe directed against the measles fusion protein gene gave a positive signal with a hepatocyte distribution. No signal was obtained with the measles nucleocapsid protein probe, suggesting that the disease agent was genetically distinct from, but related to, the measles virus. Subsequent liver biopsies were characterized by the gradual disappearance of the giant cell changes and by the concomitant development of cirrhosis. This is a case of adult GCH that resolved spontaneously and led to cirrhosis, thus implicating GCH as a potential cause of "cryptogenic" liver disease. Our findings provide further support for the existence of a distinct, as yet unidentified viral species as a cause of this disease.

Polyenylphosphatidylcholine inhibits PDGF-induced proliferation in rat hepatic stellate cells.

Polyenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC), a polyunsaturated phospholipid extract from soy beans, prevents the development of liver cirrhosis in animal models. Its mechanism of action is unknown. Based on the hypothesis that PPC might act by decreasing hepatic stellate cell proliferation, we studied the effect of PPC and its main components, dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC) and palmitoyl-linoleoylphosphatidylcholine (PLPC), on PDGF-induced stellate cell proliferation and intracellular signal transduction. Normal rat hepatic stellate cells in tissue culture were serumstarved, and incubated with 10ng/ml PDGF in the absence or presence of phospholipids. Cell proliferation was measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation. P44MAPK activation was determined by kinase assay, and AP-1 binding by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. PPC (200 ng/ml) significantly inhibited PDGF-induced proliferation (p < 0.05; ANOVA, n = 3) and antagonized PDGF-induced P44MAPK activation and AP-1 binding. This effect was mimicked by DLPC but not by PLPC. Neither DLPC nor PLPC prevented PDGF receptor activation. We conclude that PPC exerts a previously unrecognized effect on mitogen-induced stellate cell proliferation which may be mediated by DLPC. Inhibition of this cascade represents a potential mechanism for the inhibitory effect of PPC on hepatic fibrogenesis.

Complement C4 protein expression by rat hepatic stellate cells.

Stellate cells play an important role in the production and turnover of the normal extracellular matrix of the liver and are key effector cells in the hepatic fibrogenesis that occurs in response to liver injury. In the present study, we used a rat model of long term dietary iron supplementation to identify stellate cell genes that are expressed during chronic hepatic iron overload. Using a subtraction cloning strategy, we identified a rat isoform of the complement C4 protein gene whose expression was strongly induced in stellate cells after iron overload. Highly purified, cultured stellate cells synthesized the C4 precursor protein and released its subunits into the culture medium. The C4 protein secreted in vitro was biologically active in a C4-specific hemolytic assay. C4 mRNA expression was minimal in freshly isolated stellate cells and increased between days 3 and 7 of primary culture, coincident with the expression of smooth muscle alpha-actin (alpha-SMA), a marker of cellular activation. C4 expression was absent in strongly alpha-SMA-positive, passaged cells, but was induced by IFN-gamma, which simultaneously inhibited alpha-SMA expression. Our studies establish hepatic stellate cells as a previously unrecognized source of C4 and raise the possibility that complement protein expression by the cells plays a role in the hepatic injury response and in fibrogenesis. Our in vitro data point to the presence of two distinct stimulatory pathways for C4 expression in stellate cells that differ with regard to their sensitivity to IFN-gamma and their relationship to cellular activation.

SecY, SecE, and band 1 form the membrane-embedded domain of Escherichia coli preprotein translocase.

The preprotein translocase of Escherichia coli is a multisubunit enzyme with two domains, the peripheral membrane protein SecA and the membrane-embedded SecY/E protein. SecY/E has been isolated as a complex of three polypeptides, SecY, SecE, and band 1. We now present four lines of evidence that the active species of SecY/E is composed of a tightly associated complex of these three subunits: 1) antibodies to SecY efficiently precipitate SecY/E activity as well as all three polypeptides; 2) the proportions of SecY, SecE, and band 1 in the immunoprecipitates are the same as in the starting fraction; 3) the immunoprecipitable complex is not disrupted by treatment with either high salt or urea but is disrupted by brief incubation at 20 degrees C, and the kinetics of dissociation of both band 1 and SecE from SecY at 20 degrees C parallel the loss of translocation ATPase activity; 4) upon immunoprecipitation of similar units of activity of translocase from detergent solutions from either wild-type membranes or a SecY and SecE overproducer strain, the SecE and band 1 subunits are recovered in the same proportions. These data establish that the subunits of SecY/E are firmly associated and that it is the associated complex which is active for translocation.

Pattern of 24 hour intragastric acidity in active duodenal ulcer disease and in healthy controls.

Twenty four hour intragastric acidity was measured by continuous recording using intragastric combined glass electrodes in 46 duodenal ulcer patients within 48 hours of endoscopic confirmation of active ulceration. Acidity during predefined time periods was compared with that measured in 40 healthy controls without gastrointestinal disease: it was significantly higher in duodenal ulcer patients at all times, but 25% of ulcer patients had median 24 hour acidity within the interquartile range of the normal group. During the evening (18,00 to 22,00 h) ulcer patients had considerable acidity with a median of 39.8 (63.1-31.6) mmol/l (interquartile range) compared with 5.6 (22.3-0.4) mmol/l of controls. It is suggested that antisecretory treatment be directed to decrease this period of unbuffered acidity, as well as during the night, which is presently considered of prime importance.

Agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. I. Permeability properties.

45Ca2+ fluxes and free cytosolic Ca2+ [( Ca2+]i) were used to describe the Ca2+ permeability and Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool at rest, during stimulation, and at termination of stimulation. A sequence of stimulation with carbachol, inhibition with atropine (cycling), and restimulation with cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was used to follow Ca2+ reloading. Reloading of the pool required extracellular Ca2+ and was measured as an increased rate and extent of 45Ca2+ uptake into the acini. The 45Ca2+ incorporated into cycled acini could be completely released with CCK-8. The dose-response curves for 45Ca uptake and release were identical to those of the hormonally evoked [Ca2+]i increase. The increased 45Ca2+ uptake during reloading was not due to an expansion of any intracellular pool size but reflects the labeling of the pool to isotopic equilibrium in cycled acini. The rate constant of Ca2+ efflux from the pool of resting cells was approximately 0.67 +/- 0.01/h. With stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the pool membrane rapidly increased, resulting in Ca2+ release into the cytosol and an increase in [Ca2+]i. With termination of stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the pool membrane rapidly decreased while the pool continued to reload with extracellular Ca2+. Labeling of the pool to isotopic equilibrium allowed determination of the amount of Ca2+ released from the pool, which was 2.94 +/- 0.06 nmol/mg protein. This indicates that total Ca2+ concentration in the pool is in the millimolar range.

Agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. II. Characterization of reloading.

45Ca2+ fluxes and free cytosolic Ca2+ measurements in guinea pig pancreatic acini indicated that after agonist stimulation and the release of Ca2+ from the agonist-sensitive pool at least part of the Ca2+ is extruded from the cell, resulting in 45Ca2+ efflux. In the continued presence of agonist, the pool remains permeable to Ca2+ but partially refills with Ca2+. This reloading is dependent on the concentration of extracellular Ca2+. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, the pool is completely depleted of Ca2+. However, with increasing concentrations of CaCl2 in the incubation solution (from 0.5 to 2.0 mM) there is increasing repletion of the pool with Ca2+ during agonist stimulation. With termination of agonist stimulation, the Ca2+ permeability of the agonist-sensitive pool is rapidly reduced to that measured in the unstimulated cell. As a result, the Ca2+ incorporated into the pool during the stimulation period is rapidly trapped within the pool and exchanges poorly with medium Ca2+. Subsequently, the pool completely refills with Ca2+. The rate of Ca2+ reloading at the termination of agonist stimulation is slower than the conversion of the pool to the impermeable state. In incubation media containing 1.3 mM CaCl2, the half-time for reloading at the termination of stimulation is 5 min. These observations demonstrate the characteristics of Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool both during stimulation and at the termination of stimulation.

Stimulation of gastric acid secretion increases mucosal blood flow in immediate vicinity of parietal cells in baboons.

In acute experiments carried out in 27 baboons under general anesthesia, the regional gastric mucosal and muscle layer blood flow and gastric acid secretion were measured during 4 hr. Baboons were allocated to each of the following six groups: control, gastric acid stimulation with histamine 40 micrograms/kg/hr intravenous, inhibition of basal or stimulated acid secretion with either ranitidine 50 mg intravenous or omeprazole 1 microgram/kg/hr. There were no significant cardiovascular alterations during the experiments. Histamine stimulation produced a concomitant rise in acid secretion and increase in blood flow only to the mucosal layer of the parietal-cell-bearing area of the stomach. Neither the underlying muscle layer nor the non-parietal-cell-bearing fundic or antral mucosa took part in this response, suggesting that a mechanism controlling blood flow is present in close proximity to the parietal cells. It was also established that the increase in blood flow occurs in response to parietal cell activity and not as a result of the action of histamine on the vascular system. Suppression of both basal and stimulated acid secretion did not cause a fall of mucosal blood flow below basal levels in any part of the stomach, indicating that drugs that inhibit parietal cell activity can be used in conditions where gastric mucosal ischemia should be avoided.

Effect of a slow-release formula of trimoprostil on intragastric acidity in healthy volunteers.

We investigated the effect of a slow-release formula of trimoprostil, a prostaglandin E2 analogue, at a dose of 3 mg b.d. on circadian intragastric acidity in nine healthy volunteers using ambulatory pH-metry in a placebo-controlled study. The effect of trimoprostil was long lasting (8 hours during the night). However, it lowered gastric pH on average only by 0.4 pH units. In four of the six women severe side-effects occurred in the form of abdominal cramping, metrorrhagia, and/or diarrhoea. These disadvantages may limit the clinical use of this drug.

Microsphere estimates of blood flow: methodological considerations.

The microsphere technique is a standard method for measuring blood flow in experimental animals. Sporadic reports have appeared outlining the limitations of this method. In this study we have systematically assessed the effect of blood withdrawals for reference sampling, microsphere numbers, and anesthesia on blood flow estimates using radioactive microspheres in dogs. Experiments were performed on 18 conscious and 12 anesthetized dogs. Four blood flow estimates were performed over 120 min using 1 X 10(6) microspheres (15 microns) each time. The effects of excessive numbers of microspheres (13 million), pentobarbital sodium anesthesia (30 mg/kg), and replacement of volume loss for reference samples with dextran 70 were assessed. In both conscious and anesthetized dogs a progressive decrease in gastric mucosal blood flow and cardiac output was observed over 120 min. This was also observed in the pancreas in conscious dogs. The major factor responsible for these changes was the volume loss due to reference sample withdrawals. Replacement of the withdrawn blood with dextran 70 led to stable blood flows to all organs. The injection of excessive numbers of microspheres did not modify hemodynamics to a greater extent than did the injection of 4 million microspheres. Anesthesia exerted no influence on blood flow other than raising coronary flow. We conclude that although blood flow to the gastric mucosa and the pancreas is sensitive to the minor hemodynamic changes associated with the microsphere technique, replacement of volume loss for reference samples ensures stable blood flow to all organs over a 120-min period.

Induction of anacidity restores gastric aminopyrine clearance in canine hemorrhagic shock.

The determinants of gastric aminopyrine clearance were studied in a canine hemorrhagic shock model. Adult mongrel dogs were anesthetized, and their stomachs perfused with 0.1 N HCl through an esophageal and a duodenal cannula. Blood flow to the serosal layer of the anterior gastric wall was measured by a laser flowmeter. Hemorrhagic shock was induced by controlled arterial bleeding to a mean systolic blood pressure of 40 +/- 5 mm Hg (n = 8), resulting in a 36 +/- 8% drop of gastric wall blood flow. In contrast, the aminopyrine clearance did not reveal the expected drop and remained unchanged during shock. When acid secretion was abolished by intravenous omeprazole (1.3 mg/kg bolus plus 0.75 mg/kg/h infusion), aminopyrine concentrations dropped in the gastric perfusate and rose in the serum during shock, resulting in a similar decrease in the clearance (53 +/- 25%) as compared to the flowmeter readings. In control experiments without hemorrhagic shock, omeprazole did not affect the concentrations of aminopyrine in serum and in the perfusate, or the recovery of 14C-labeled aminopyrine in the mucosa at the end of the experiment. These studies indicate that the aminopyrine clearance is impaired in hemorrhagic shock, and that complete inhibition of acid secretion by omeprazole restores the apparent aminopyrine clearance by divergent effects on blood and gastric juice concentrations of aminopyrine.

The agonist-sensitive calcium pool in the pancreatic acinar cell. Activation of plasma membrane Ca2+ influx mechanism.

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the characteristics and regulation of Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane in pancreatic acini and to demonstrate the role of this Ca2+ influx in the mechanism of reloading of the agonist-sensitive Ca2+ pool. In pancreatic acini, depleted of intracellular Ca2+ by stimulation with carbachol in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, 25 microM LaCl3 inhibited the increase in free cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) and reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool that occurred with the addition of extracellular CaCl2 to the medium. LaCl3 also inhibited the increase in cellular 45Ca2+ uptake that occurred during agonist stimulation and its termination but not cellular 45Ca2+ uptake into unstimulated acini. In acini depleted of intracellular Ca2+, increased cellular Ca2+ influx and reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool occurred even if extracellular CaCl2 was added 10 min after the termination of agonist action. Maximal reloading was independent of the extracellular Ca2+ concentration between 0.5 and 2.0 mM CaCl2. However, the time to maximal reloading was longer at lower extracellular Ca2+ concentrations. These results demonstrate a plasma membrane Ca2+ influx mechanism in the pancreatic acinar cell that is activated during cell stimulation. This transport remains activated as long as the agonist-sensitive pool is not completely loaded with Ca2+ suggesting that the Ca2+ influx mechanism is regulated by the quantity of Ca2+ in the agonist-sensitive pool. The activation of this Ca2+ transport mechanism functions to allow Ca2+ influx across the plasma membrane and Ca2+ reloading of the agonist-sensitive pool. Furthermore, these results suggest that during reloading Ca2+ crosses the plasma membrane into the cytosol before entering the agonist-sensitive pool.

Activation of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump of pancreatic acini by Ca2+ mobilizing hormones.

Stimulation of the pancreatic acinar cells with Ca2+ mobilizing hormones increased the ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake into the ER of permeabilized cells. Activation of the ER Ca2+ pump resulted in increased apparent affinity for Ca2+ from 0.26 to 0.09 uM and Vmax from 2.68 to 5.74 nmoles/mg prot./min. The apparent affinity of the pump for VO4 = was dependent on [Ca2+]. Activation of the pump also decreased apparent affinity for VO4 = from 12 to 32 uM at [Ca2+] of 0.138 uM. These findings suggest that pump activation is due to acceleration of the rate of the conformational transition between the VO4 = (E2) and Ca2+ (E1) sensitive forms of the pump.

Does smoking interfere with the effect of histamine H2-receptor antagonists on intragastric acidity in man?

The interaction between smoking and the effect of histamine H2-antagonists on intragastric acidity was examined in a double blind double dummy placebo controlled study. Healthy volunteers, 11 smokers and 10 non-smokers, were given, on four separate days at least one week apart, either placebo or cimetidine 800 mg nocte or ranitidine 2 X 150 mg per day or ranitidine 300 mg nocte. Tablets were taken at 2115 and 0900 h. Smokers smoked a cigarette hourly from 0700 to 2300 h. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were standardised. Intragastric acidity was measured with a combined intragastric glass electrode and a solid state recorder. The subjects were fully ambulatory. The three histamine H2-receptor antagonist regimens were less effective (p = 0.04) in smokers than in non-smokers, but the difference between acidity of smokers and non-smokers was small. Means of medians of pH during a 24-h period with placebo, cimetidine 800 mg, ranitidine 2 X 150 mg and ranitidine 300 mg were 1.6, 2.3, 3.1, and 2.7 in smokers and 1.5, 2.7, 3.2, and 3.1 in non-smokers, respectively. In a second part of the study seven chronic smokers were reexamined after acutely stopping smoking: inhibition of gastric acidity by histamine H2-receptor antagonists was similar before and after withdrawal. Smoking does not affect intragastric acidity in untreated volunteers and only slightly decreases the effectiveness of histamine H2-receptor antagonists on intragastric acidity. This effect best in part explains the unfavourable effect of smoking on healing of peptic ulcer in patients treated with these drugs.

Prevention of gastric mucosal lesions following aortic cross-clamping.

Stress ulceration is frequently encountered after cardiovascular surgery. In this study of 32 male baboons, severe gastric ischaemia was used to produce gastric stress lesions. The occurrence of these lesions was reduced by allopurinol (P = 0.03) and completely prevented by the combination of allopurinol with superoxide dismutase (P = 0.004). A shorter ischaemic period also reduced the number of lesions (P = 0.02). Concurrent with the stress lesion formation, there was a fall in mucosal glutathione and oxidized glutathione levels (P less than 0.05).