Abstract
We have examined the effect of colchicine on the induction of alkaline phosphatase and its transport to the cell surface in a primary culture of rat hepatocytes. When freshly isolated hepatocytes were subjected to primary culture, alkaline phosphatase activity increased linearly starting at 6h and reached a maximum level (about 10 times the initial activity) at 24h after seeding. Radioimmunoassay with 125I-(anti-alkaline phosphatase)-IgG confirmed that the increase in enzyme activity was due to the increased amount of enzyme protein. The presence of colchicine in the culture medium (10-50μm) did not cause an additive effect on the enzyme induction, in contrast to the previous results obtained in in vivo experiments (Ikehara, Y. et al. (1978) J. Biochem. 84, 1335-1338; Oda, K. & Ikehara, Y. (1981) Biochim. Biophvs. Acta 640, 398-408). However, translocation of the induced enzyme to the cell surface was inhibited by colchicine in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the enzyme induction by colchicine observed in vivo might not be due to its direct effect on hepatocytes, and that microtubules are involved in intracellular transport of the newly synthesized membrane protein.
