sodium-borohydride and Liver-Neoplasms

The subcellular distribution of glucose transporters in rat hepatocytes and HepG2 cells was studied in the absence and in the presence of insulin. Glucose transporters were quantitated by measuring glucose-sensitive cytochalasin B binding and by protein immunoblotting using isoform-specific antibodies. Plasma membrane contamination into subcellular fractions was assessed by measuring distribution of 5'-nucleotidase and cell surface carbohydrate label. In hepatocytes, GLUT-2 occurred in a low-density microsomal (LDM) fraction at a significant concentration, and as much as 15% of cellular GLUT-2 was found intracellularly that cannot be accounted for by plasma membrane contamination. In HepG2 cells which express GLUT-1 and GLUT-2, the two isoforms showed distinct subcellular distribution patterns: GLUT-2 was highly concentrated in LDM while very little GLUT-1 was found in this fraction, indicating that a large portion of GLUT-2 occurs in intracellular organelles. Insulin treatment did not change the subcellular distribution patterns of glucose transporters in both cell types. Our results suggest that rat hepatocytes and HepG2 cells possess an intracellular storage pool for GLUT-2, but lack the insulin-responsive glucose transporter translocation mechanism.

Topics: Adipose Tissue; Animals; Biological Transport; Blotting, Western; Borohydrides; Cell Fractionation; Cell Membrane; Cells, Cultured; Cytochalasin B; Glucose; Humans; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Isomerism; Liver; Liver Neoplasms; Microsomes, Liver; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins; Organelles; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Previously, monoclonal antibody FDC-6 was established, which defines a structure specific for fibronectins isolated from fetal and malignant cells and tissues. The presence of the FDC-6-defined structure at type III connecting segment (III CS) is characteristic of oncofetal fibronectin (onf-FN), and its absence is characteristic of normal fibronectin (nor-FN) (Matsuura, H., and Hakomori, S. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 82, 6517-6521). Hepatoma fibronectin was sequentially digested by various proteases, followed by subsequent chromatography on an FDC-6 affinity column and reverse-phase columns at each step of digestion. A single strongly active glycosylhexapeptide (glycopeptide 1) and an inactive glycosylpentapeptide (glycopeptide 3) were isolated from glycopeptide A containing 35 amino acid residues. The minimum essential structure required for the FDC-6 activity was found to be a hexapeptide sequence Val-Thr-His-Pro-Gly-Tyr having NeuAc alpha 2----3Gal beta 1----3GalNAc or its core (Gal beta 1----3GalNAc or GalNAc) linked at threonine. Various synthetic peptides including the Val-Thr-His-Pro-Gly-Tyr sequence and a glycopeptide having the Val-Thr-His-Pro-Gly pentapeptide with the same glycosylation at threonine were all inactive. Elimination of sialic acid slightly increased the activity, and subsequent elimination of galactose did not alter the activity; however, removal of the Gal beta 1----3GalNAc residue by endo-alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase from desialylated glycopeptide A resulted in total inactivation of the reactivity with FDC-6 antibody. Thus, a single glycosylation at a defined threonine residue of the III CS region may induce conformational changes in the peptide to form the specific oncofetal epitope recognized by FDC-6 antibody. This finding opens the possibility that a number of other oncofetal epitopes consist of a peptide and a common O-linked carbohydrate and that the combination produces a conformation specific to cancer or to a stage of development.

Topics: alpha-N-Acetylgalactosaminidase; Amino Acid Sequence; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Borohydrides; Carbohydrate Conformation; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Chromatography; Epitopes; Fetus; Fibronectins; Glycopeptides; Glycoside Hydrolases; Glycosylation; Hexosaminidases; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Molecular Sequence Data; Oligopeptides; Peptide Fragments; Peptide Hydrolases; Protein Conformation; Threonine; Tumor Cells, Cultured