LYSOSOMES IN LYMPHOID TISSUE : II. Intracellular Distribution of Acid Hydrolases

Differential centrifugation and density gradient isopycnic centrifugation have been used to fractionate homogenates of rat spleen and, in a few experiments, of rat thymus and cervical lymph nodes. The fractions have been analyzed for proteins, DNA, RNA, cytochrome oxidase, esterase, and up to 11 acid hydrolases. The results obtained indicate that the hydrolases are associated, at least largely, with cytoplasmic particles of lysosomal nature, and suggest further that these particles belong to two, and possibly three, distinct populations, perhaps reflecting the cellular heterogeneity of the tissues. The populations are identified as: (a) the L19 population, the most important group, containing all 12 hydrolases and characterized by a modal density of about 1.19 in a sucrose—0.2 M KCl gradient; (b) the L15 population with a modal density of 1.15, a group of apparently incomplete lysosomes containing cathepsin D and a few other enzymes, but very poor in, or entirely devoid of, several acid hydrolases, including cathepsins B and C; (c) the L30 population, comprising all 12 enzymes and banding together with the nuclei at a density of 1.30 or higher. Lack of success in separating the latter group from the nuclei renders its significance unclear

INFLUENCE OF GLUCAGON, AN INDUCER OF CELLULAR AUTOPHAGY, ON SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RAT LIVER LYSOSOMES

The response of rat liver lysosomes to an intraperitoneal injection of glucagon has been evaluated from studies on the mechanical fragility, osmotic sensitivity, and sedimentation properties of these subcellular particles. It has been found that about ½ hr after the injection of glucagon the hepatic lysosomes exhibit a fairly sudden increase in their sensitivity to mechanical stresses and to exposure to a decreased osmotic pressure. At the same time, their sedimentation properties undergo complex changes characterized mainly by a significant increase in the sedimentation coefficient of a considerable proportion of the total particles. In addition, glucagon causes an increase in the proportion of slowly sedimenting particles, with the result that the distribution of sedimentation coefficients within the total population tends to become bimodal. The latter change is more pronounced for acid phosphatase, less so for cathepsin D, and barely detectable for acid deoxyribonuclease. All these modifications are maximal between 45 and 90 min after injection and regress to normal within approximately 4 hr. With the exception of the increase in the slow component, for which no explanation can be advanced at the present time, they are consistent with the hypothesis that glucagon causes an increase in lysosomal size, and may be related to the autophagic-vacuole formation known to occur after glucagon administration

LYSOSOMES IN LYMPHOID TISSUE : III. Influence of Various Treatments of the Animals on the Distribution of Acid Hydrolases

The density-distribution patterns of various enzymes and of labeled materials have been determined by isopycnic centrifugation in a sucrose—0.2 M KCl gradient on homogenates of lymphoid tissues from rats injected with Triton WR-1339, 14C-labeled dextran, 51Cr-labeled erythrocytes, and cortisol. The results confirm and extend the conclusion, derived from previous investigations on normal animals, that the lysosomes of lymphoid tissues form two and possibly three, distinct populations. The evidence indicates that the L19 population belongs to macrophages and the L15 group to lymphocytes. The L30 population appears to be associated with a special type of phagocyte with a high capacity for dextran storage. All three populations seem to contribute to the activities found in soluble form in homogenates of normal lymphoid tissues

THE SYNTHESIS AND TURNOVER OF RAT LIVER PEROXISOMES : IV. Biochemical Pathway of Catalase Synthesis

Early events in the biosynthesis of liver catalase were studied on female rats receiving [3H]leucine or [3H]δ-aminolevulinic acid or a mixture of [3H]leucine with [14C]δ-aminolevulinic acid by intraportal injection. Catalase antigen was selectively separated from homogenates by immunoprecipitation, both without and after partial purification of the enzyme. Label from both precursors appeared first in immunoprecipitable material which was lost upon purification of catalase; the label subsequently became associated with material indistinguishable from catalase. Kinetic analysis of the results indicates that the nonpurifiable material identified by early labeling consists of two distinct biosynthetic intermediates, the first lacking heme and representing about 1.6% of the total catalase content or 13 µg/g liver, the second containing heme and representing about 0.5% of the total catalase content or 4 µg/g liver. The first intermediate migrates at the same rate as catalase upon sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and therefore has a monomeric molecular weight of about 60,000

FURTHER BIOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES OF GRANULE FRACTIONS FROM RABBIT HETEROPHIL LEUKOCYTES

Fractionation of rabbit heterophil leukocyte homogenates by isopycnic centrifugation as well as by zonal sedimentation has helped to characterize further the particulate components of these cells. Four classes have been identified: (A) Large (0.5–0.8 µm) and dense (1.26) azurophil or primary granules, containing all the myeloperoxidase, one-third of the lysozyme, and a major proportion of the lysosomal acid hydrolase activities of the cells. (B) Smaller (0.25–0.40 µm) and less dense (1.23) specific or secondary granules, containing 90% of the alkaline phosphatase and the remainder of the lysozyme activities, but very little if any acid hydrolases. (C) Particles of low density (1.20), containing the remainder of the lysosomal acid hydrolases. This fraction was heterogeneous, but showed abundant small rod- or dumbbell-shaped particles of moderate electron opacity, surrounded by a single membrane (tertiary granules?). The possible origin of these lysosomes from contaminating macrophages could not be ruled out but appeared unlikely. (D) Slowly sedimenting material of very low density (1.14), made up of large, empty vesicular membrane structures, and containing 10% of the alkaline phosphatase, and all of a thiol-dependent acid p-nitrophenyl phosphatase, an enzyme clearly different from the lysosomal acid phosphatase

COMBINED BIOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF PARTICULATE FRACTIONS FROM RAT LIVER : Analysis of Preparations Enriched in Lysosomes or in Particles Containing Urate Oxidase, D-Amino Acid Oxidase, and Catalase

Six particulate preparations isolated from rat liver under different experimental conditions were analyzed biochemically and examined in the electron microscope. The results confirm the lysosomal nature of the pericanalicular dense bodies and demonstrate that the microbodies are the bearers of urate oxidase, catalase, and D-amino acid oxidase. Catalase, representing a major component of the particles, and D-amino acid oxidase appear to be associated with the structureless "sap" of the particles, urate oxidase with their crystalloid core or with their outer membrane

THE SYNTHESIS AND TURNOVER OF RAT LIVER PEROXISOMES : II. Turnover of Peroxisome Proteins

After preliminary experiments had established that the injection of Triton WR-1339 necessary for the separation of lysosomes and peroxisomes did not affect the turnover rate of catalase, the decay of 3H-leucine incorporated into peroxisomes was studied in whole particles and in protein subfractions. It was shown that peroxisomes are destroyed in a completely random way, probably as wholes since the apparent half-life was the same for all subfractions, about 3½ days. In agreement with the results of Price et al. (11), the half-life of catalase derived from the rate of recovery from aminotriazole inhibition was about 11½ days, as was the apparent half-life of the heme prosthetic groups measured with 14C-α-aminolevulinic acid. Guanidino-labeled arginine gave an apparent half-life of 2½ days with large statistical uncertainty. Either the leucine label was reutilized very extensively in our animals and the true half-life of peroxisomes is 1½ days, or the prosthetic groups of catalase turn over more rapidly than the protein part of the molecule

THE SYNTHESIS AND TURNOVER OF RAT LIVER PEROXISOMES : III. The Size Distribution of Peroxisomes and the Incorporation of New Catalase

Rat liver peroxisomes have been separated according to size by zonal sedimentation. A method is described for calculating the size of the particles from their final position in the gradient. Peroxisomes seem biochemically homogeneous throughout their size distribution. 3 hr after injection of tritiated leucine, the specific radioactivity of catalase is the same in peroxisomes of different sizes, and it remains so for up to 1 wk after administration of the precursor. This observation rules out the possibility that peroxisomes have an extended period of independent growth. If individual particles maintain an independent existence, they must be formed very rapidly. The other possible explanation is that peroxisomes exchange material within the liver cell

RESOLUTION OF GRANULES FROM RABBIT HETEROPHIL LEUKOCYTES INTO DISTINCT POPULATIONS BY ZONAL SEDIMENTATION

Postnuclear supernates from homogenates of essentially pure rabbit heterophil leukocytes were fractionated by means of zonal differential centrifugation through a discontinuous sucrose gradient at various speeds. Three distinct groups of granules were characterized biochemically and morphologically. They were, in order of decreasing sedimentation coefficient: (a) Large, relatively dense granules, identified morphologically as the azurophil or primary granules, and containing essentially all of the myeloperoxidase activity of the preparations, about one-third of their lysozyme activity, and between 50 and 80% of their content in five acid hydrolases typically associated with lysosomes in other cells; (b) smaller, less dense granules, with the morphological appearance of the specific or secondary granules, and carrying most of the alkaline phosphatase and the remainder of the lysozyme activity of the preparations; (c) a second group of lysosome-like particles, associated with a morphologically heterogeneous fraction, and containing the remainder of the acid hydrolases, but little or no myeloperoxidase. When p-nitrophenyl phosphate was used instead of β-glycerophosphate for the assay of acid phosphatase, only small proportions of the total activity accompanied the two main lysosomal bands, and considerable activity was found in a zone slightly retarded with respect to the slowly moving band of acid hydrolases