A method has been developed for routine high yield separation of canalicular (cLPM) from basolateral (blLPM) liver plasma membrane vesicles of rat liver. Using a combination of rate zonal floatation (TZ-28 zonal rotor, Sorvall) and high speed centrifugation through discontinuous sucrose gradients, 9-16 mg of cLPM and 15-28 mg of blLPM protein can be isolated in 1 d. cLPM are free of the basolateral markers Na+/K+-ATPase and glucagon-stimulatable adenylate cyclase activities, but are highly enriched with respect to homogenate in the "canalicular marker" enzyme activities leucylnaphthylamidase (48-fold), gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (60-fold), 5'-nucleotidase (64-fold), alkaline phosphatase (71-fold), Mg++-ATPase (83-fold), and alkaline phosphodiesterase I (116-fold). In contrast, blLPM are 34-fold enriched in Na+/K+-ATPase activity, exhibit considerable glucagon-stimulatable adenylate cyclase activity, and demonstrate a 4- to 15-fold increase over homogenate in the various "canalicular markers." cLPM have a twofold higher content of sialic acids, cholesterol; and sphingomyelin compared with blLPM. At least three canalicular-(130,000, 100,000, and 58,000 mol wt) and several basolateral-specific protein bands have been detected after SDS PAGE of the two LPM subfractions. Specifically, the immunoglobin A-binding secretory component is restricted to blLPM as demonstrated by immunochemical techniques. These data indicate virtually complete separation of basolateral from canalicular LPM and demonstrate multiple functional and compositional polarity between the two surface domains of hepatocytes.

https://rupress.org/jcb/article-pdf/98/3/991/1077410/991.pdf

Structural and functional polarity of canalicular and basolateral plasma membrane vesicles isolated in high yield from rat liver.

https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hep.24229

Drug‐induced cholestasis

Troglitazone is a thiazolidinedione insulin sensitizer drug for the treatment of type 2 non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Based on an increasing number of reports on troglitazone-associated liver toxicity, the cholestatic potential of troglitazone has been investigated. Rapid and dose-dependent increases in the plasma bile acid concentrations were observed in rats after a single intravenous administration of troglitazone. A radiolabeled taurocholic acid tracer accumulated in liver tissue, indicating an interference with the hepatobiliary export of bile acids. In isolated canalicular rat liver plasma membrane preparations, troglitazone competitively inhibited the ATP-dependent taurocholate transport (apparentKi value, 1.3 μM), mediated by the canalicular bile salt export pump (Bsep). Troglitazone sulfate, the main troglitazone metabolite eliminated into bile, also showed competitive Bsep inhibition with an apparentKi value of 0.23 μM. A comparable inhibition was observed for both compounds in canalicular plasma membrane vesicles prepared from Mrp2-deficient (TR−) rats, suggesting a direct (cis-) inhibition of Bsep by troglitazone and troglitazone sulfate. A high accumulation potential was observed for troglitazone sulfate in rat liver tissue, indicating that the hepatobiliary export of this conjugated metabolite might represent a rate-limiting step in the overall elimination process of troglitazone. This accumulation in combination with the high Bsep inhibition potential suggested that mainly troglitazone sulfate was responsible for the interaction with the hepatobiliary export of bile acids at the level of the canalicular Bsep in rats. Such an interaction might lead to a troglitazone-induced intrahepatic cholestasis in humans as well, contributing to the formation of a troglitazone-induced liver toxicity.

Cholestatic Potential of Troglitazone as a Possible Factor Contributing to Troglitazone-Induced Hepatotoxicity: In Vivo and in Vitro Interaction at the Canalicular Bile Salt Export Pump (Bsep) in the Rat

1. The interaction of cyclosporin A (CyA) with p-glycoprotein during intestinal uptake was investigated by a combination of in vitro experiments with human Caco-2 cells and an intubation study in healthy volunteers. 2. CyA uptake into the cells was not saturable and exhibited only a low temperature sensitivity, suggesting passive diffusion. When the permeation of CyA across Caco-2 monolayers from the apical to the basolateral side was determined, overall transport had an apparently saturable component up to a concentration of 1 microM. At higher concentrations permeation increased over-proportionally. Calculation of the kinetic parameters of apical to basolateral permeation suggested a diffusional process with a KD of 0.5 microliter min-1 per filter, which was overlayed by an active system in basolateral to apical direction with a KM of 3.8 microM and a Jmax of 6.5 picomol min-1 per filter. 3. CyA permeation was significantly higher when the drug was given from the basolateral side as compared to the permeation from the apical side. Apical to basolateral transport of CyA was increased in the presence of vinblastine, daunomycin and a non-immunosuppressive CyA-derivative. All compounds inhibit p-glycoprotein-mediated transport processes. Basolateral to apical permeation of CyA showed a dose-dependent decrease in the presence of vinblastine. Permeation of daunomycin across Caco-2 cell monolayers was also higher from the basolateral to the apical side than vice versa. Basolateral to apical permeation was decreased in the presence of SDZ PSC 833 and cyclosporin A. 4. Western blot analysis of Caco-2 cells with the monoclonal antibody C219 confirmed the presence of p-glycoprotein in the used cell system. 5. When the absorption of CyA in the gastrointestinal (GI)-tract of healthy volunteers was determined, a remarkable decrease of the plasma AUC could be observed dependent on the location of absorption in the rank order stomach > jejunum/ileum > colon. The decrease in absorption exhibited a marked correlation (r = 0.994) to the expression of mRNA for p-glycoprotein over the GI-tract (stomach < jejunum < colon). 6. All data provide evidence that CyA is a substrate of p-glycoprotein in the GI-tract, which might explain the local differences and the high variability in cyclosporin absorption found in vivo.

Relevance of p‐glycoprotein for the enteral absorption of cyclosporin A: in vitro‐in vivo correlation

Fluidity and Function of Hepatocyte Plasma Membranes

Liver plasma membrane (LPM) NaK-ATPase activity, LPM fluidity, and bile acid-independent flow (BAIF) were studied in rats pretreated with one of five experimental agents. Compared with controls, BAIF was increased 24.6% by thyroid hormone and 34.4% by phenobarbital, decreased by ethinyl estradiol, but unchanged by propylene glycol and cortisone acetate. Parallel to the observed changes in BAIF, NaK-ATPase activity also was increased by thyroid hormone (40.8%) and decreased by ethinyl estradiol (26.2%). In contrast, NaK-ATPase activity failed to increase after phenobarbital but did increase 36% after propylene glycol and 34.8% after cortisone acetate. Thus BAIF and NaK-ATPase activity did not always change in parallel. The NaK-ATPase K(m) for ATP was not affected by any of these agents.LPM fluidity, measured by fluorescence polarization using the probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, was found to be increased by propylene glycol, thyroid hormone, and cortisone acetate, decreased by ethinyl estradiol, and unaffected by phenobarbital. Thus in these cases, induced changes in LPM fluidity paralleled those in NaK-ATPase activity. In no case did Mg-ATPase or 5'-nucleotidase activities change in the same direction as NaK-ATPase, and the activity of neither of these enzymes correlated with LPM fluidity, thus indicating the selective nature of the changes in LPM enzyme activity caused by the agents. These findings indicate that LPM fluidity correlates with NaK-ATPase activity and may influence the activity of this enzyme. However, the nature of the role of LPM NaK-ATPase in bile secretion is uncertain and needs further study.

/pdf/studies-of-relationship-among-bile-flow-liver-plasma-2hud2ma32l.pdf

E B Keefee

Papers

Studies of relationship among bile flow, liver plasma membrane NaK-ATPase, and membrane microviscosity in the rat.