Abstract
The effect of colchicine on the intracellular transport of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes was examined by immunocytochemical methods. In hepatocytes cultured in control medium, the reaction products indicating the presence of ALP were observed in the plasma membrane surrounding intercellular spaces, although they were also observed in the cytoplasm near the nuclei and in the plasma membrane along cell borders between adjacent hepatocytes. When hepatocytes were cultured in the above medium to which colchicine had been added to a final concentration of 10-5M, the reaction products were mainly observed in several large autolysosome-like granules in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, upon examination by a fluorescence-labeled antibody method, microtubules were observed to extend in a radial pattern from the nuclei to the cytoplasm in hepatocytes cultured in control medium but they were not observed in hepatocytes cultured in the colchicine-supplemented medium. In the present study, based on morphological evidence, it was confirmed that the transport of ALP from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane of adult rat hepatocytes is inhibited by colchicine.
