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BACKGROUND: Calcium antagonists lower plasma levels of lipoproteins and suppress hepatic very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion. Similar effects have been observed with the calcium ionophore A23187. We studied further the effect of calcium on VLDL metabolism. METHODS: Hepatocytes from male Wistar rats were isolated and cultured in the presence or absence of calcium-mobilizing hormones, or compounds that either stimulate or inhibit the activity of protein kinase C. Secreted VLDL (d < 1.006 g mL-1) was isolated by centrifugation (145,000 x g), and lipids and apolipoprotein B were analysed. RESULTS: VLDL secretion reached maximum in hepatocytes cultured in medium containing calcium 0.8-2.4 mmolL-1. Depleting the cells of calcium by incubating in calcium-free medium or by treating the cells with the Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin (5 x 10-7 molL-1) suppressed lipid secretion to less than 15% of control, and this was accompanied by an increase in cellular levels of triacylglycerol. Calcium loading (medium calcium > 2.4 mmolL-1) suppressed both lipoprotein secretion and cellular levels of lipids, suggesting a reduced overall rate of lipid synthesis. At an extracellular calcium concentration of 0.8 mmolL-1, angiotensin II, vasopressin, endothelin-1 (10(-7) molL-1) or phenylephrine (10(-4) molL-1) suppressed VLDL secretion (maximum to 37% of control), and elevated medium calcium attenuated this effect. The protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine (5 x 10(-5) molL-1) and the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) (10(-6) molL-1), suppressed VLDL secretion to 18% and 60% of control, respectively, whereas the protein kinase C-inactive 4 alpha-PMA was without an effect. No effect on ketogenesis was observed by these compounds, indicating that suppressed lipid secretion was not due to an enhanced oxidation of lipids. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic VLDL secretion can be related to changes in hepatocyte levels of calcium and the activity of protein kinase C.

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When hepatocytes were cultured for 24 h in the presence of forskolin (10(-4) mol l-1) or isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX, 10(-3) mol l-1), the intracellular cAMP concentration peaked (320-380 pmol mg-1 protein) after 10-20 min of culture. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in the secretion of triacylglycerol, cholesterol and apoprotein B associated with VLDL. After 4 h cAMP levels had returned almost to basal values but the inhibition of VLDL secretion persisted. There was a small intracellular accumulation of triacylglycerol but not of apoprotein B. Addition of forskolin and IBMX together led to a further increase in intracellular cAMP and a further suppression of VLDL output. Similar effects on the secretion of VLDL were also observed after addition of Bt2cAMP. Exposure of cell cultures to glucagon (10(-7) mol l-1) for only 10 min raised cellular cAMP levels to > 200 pmol mg-1 protein, and suppressed VLDL secretion during the next 24 h to < 40% of control. All of the substances tested inhibited de novo synthesis of fatty acids but had little or no effect on cholesterol synthesis and did not inhibit oleate esterification to triacylglycerol. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase antagonist Rp-cAMPS prevented suppression of VLDL triacylglycerol secretion induced by glucagon (10(-7) mol l-1) and abolished glucagon-induced ketogenesis. Rp-cAMPS also inhibited Bt2cAMP (7.5 x 10(-6) mol l-1)-induced suppression of VLDL secretion and enhancement of ketogenesis. It is concluded that rat hepatic VLDL metabolism can be regulated by cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinases, and that the initial transient rise in cellular cAMP levels induced by glucagon is sufficient to maintain a long-term inhibitory effect on assembly and secretion of VLDL.

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In primary cultures of rat hepatocytes, prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin D2 (PGE2 and PGD2) inhibited the secretion of very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-associated apoB, triacylglycerol, and cholesterol. These effects were concentration-dependent and remained apparent for at least 3 days of culture without an effect on the apoB/triacylglycerol ratio of the secreted VLDL. Prostaglandins had no effect on the overall synthesis of triacylglycerol but triacylglycerol accumulated within the cells, without intracellular accumulation of apoB. PGE2, when added to the medium together with glucagon, increased the inhibition of VLDL secretion, compared to that observed with glucagon alone. However, PGE2 did not increase the stimulatory effect of glucagon on ketogenesis. Unlike glucagon, the prostaglandins did not inhibit fatty acid synthesis nor did they stimulate ketogenesis or production of cAMP. Thus, of all the parameters of hepatic lipid metabolism studied, PGE2 and PGD2 selectively affected VLDL. Selective inhibition of VLDL secretion was also observed with the calcium antagonist verapamil. The divalent cation ionophore A23187 also inhibited VLDL release but, in contrast, also inhibited fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. The results suggest that VLDL secretion is modulated at some optimal cell calcium concentration that may be mediated selectively by agents such as prostaglandins.

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Exposure of cultured rat hepatocytes to a high concentration of insulin (78 nM) for 24 h in the presence of extracellular oleate (0.75 mM) resulted in a decrease in the secretion of apoprotein B (apoB) and triacylglycerol associated with very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). However, continuous exposure of the cells to insulin for longer periods (72 h) stimulated the secretion of apoB and triacylglycerol. Treatment of hepatocytes with glucagon (0.1 microM) for 24 h also suppressed the secretion of VLDL apoB, cholesterol and triacylglycerol. The cells remained responsive to the inhibitory effect of glucagon for at least 3 days. In contrast with insulin, however, exposure of the cells to glucagon for a continuous period of 72 h did not lead to a reversal of the initial inhibition. Glucagon also stimulated ketogenesis, and in this regard the cells were responsive for at least 3 days in culture. These changes were accompanied by a transient increase in intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) concentration, which reached a peak 10 min after addition of glucagon. Between 12 h and 24 h after glucagon addition, cAMP levels had returned almost to normal, but the secretion of VLDL remained suppressed during this period.

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A standard duodenal perfusion/aspiration technique was used to continuously monitor biliary and pancreatic excretion in young healthy human subjects, and the excretory patterns were examined by Fourier power spectral analysis. Experiments were carried out in the fasting state, either without or during a continuous parenteral (i.v.) stimulation by secretin and the cholecystokinin analogue ceruletide. The duodenal content aspirated was either discarded after sampling or reinfused into the jejunum. In the fasting state, significant biliary and pancreatic excretion was detected, fluctuating with a periodicity of about 60 min. During parenteral infusion with ceruletide/secretin, to simulate a postprandial state, the rate of biliary and pancreatic excretion increased as compared with fasting levels alone (basal levels). A dominant period of about 60 min was still detected but second periods of approximately 45 min and approximately 95 min, respectively, were also observed. The peak power and the total power of the biliary excretion signals were reduced. Reinfusion of aspirated duodenal fluid into the intestine (jejunum) led to a further decrease in peak power and total power of the known biliary signals. Trypsin excretion into the duodenum revealed mainly insignificant changes in peak and total power upon hormone stimulation despite a definite increase in total amount of trypsin excreted. The results indicate that parenteral ceruletide/secretin stimulation has a stabilizing effect on biliary excretion in man, and that reinfusion of aspirated duodenal content into the intestine further stabilizes the excretion.

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Extracellular ATP has vasodilatory and inotropic effects in the heart. We have demonstrated that extracellular ATP, in a concentration-dependent manner (10 nM-0.1 mM), increased [Ca2+]i in suspensions of isolated fura-2-loaded rat cardiac ventricular myocytes (maximum 96 +/- 10% increase over basal levels, SEM, n = 12, P less than 0.01). The increase in [Ca2+]i was often biphasic, with an initial fast phase (less than 1 s) of low amplitude, followed by a slower phase of higher amplitude. A second application of ATP had little effect, and ATP abolished the effect of subsequent electrical stimulations, even through the cells were still able to respond with an increase in [Ca2+]i to KCl-induced depolarization or stimulation by caffeine. Pretreatment of cells with nifedipine, verapamil, caffeine, ryanodine, or 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate hydrochloride attenuated the effect of extracellular ATP on [Ca2+]i, and binding of extracellular free calcium by excess EGTA completely abolished the effects of extracellular ATP and electrical stimulation. Extracellular ATP increased bisoxonol fluorescence in ventricular myocytes, indicating depolarization of the sarcolemma. Pretreatment of the myocytes with tetrodotoxin (50 microM), or replacement of NaCl in the incubation buffer with the impermeant cation N-methyl-D-glucamine, suppressed the extracellular ATP effect on [Ca2+]i. ADP and AMP had smaller effects on [Ca2+]i than ATP; adenosine had no effect. ATP analogues showed the following rank order of potency in increasing [Ca2+]i or bisoxonol fluorescence: ATP greater than or equal to 2-methylthioATP much greater than adenosine 5'-O-[3-thio]triphosphate greater than adenosine 5'-[alpha, beta-methylene]triphosphate approximately adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-methylene]triphosphate approximately adenosine 5'-[beta, gamma-imino]triphosphate greater than adenosine. These data are consistent with the presence of purinoceptors (P2Y subtype) on the sarcolemma of cardiac ventricular myocytes of the rat, which upon activation lead to depolarization and activation of cation channels of the sarcolemma and flux of extracellular Ca2+ into the cells. This may result in further flux of Ca2+ into the cytosol from intracellular stores. The effects of extracellular ATP on [Ca2+]i in rat cardiac ventricular myocytes may, in part, explain the direct inotropic effects of extracellular ATP on the mammalian heart.

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In the present studies, we demonstrate in buffer-perfused isolated working guinea pig hearts that indometacin reduces coronary flow rate in a dose-dependent manner (max 56.7 +/- 5.5%, SEM, n = 6, of control at 5 x 10(-6) mol/l of indometacin, P less than 0.01), and that this leads to a development of heterogeneous patterns of myocardial ischemia (elevated myocardial levels of reduced pyridine nucleotide, NADH) and depressed cardiac work (64.7 +/- 11.7%, SEM, of control at 5 x 10(-6) mol/l of indometacin, P less than 0.05). The effect of indometacin on coronary flow rate and consequently on myocardial tissue oxygenation was completely prevented by the preferential 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) (1 x 10(-6) mol/l), or the sulfidopeptide leukotriene receptor antagonist FPL 55712 (2 x 10(-5) mol/l), indicating that the isolated working guinea pig heart, even when deprived of blood, is able to produce vasoactive sulfidopeptide leukotrienes at significant levels. At higher concentrations of indometacin (5 x 10(-5) mol/l, 1 x 10(-4) mol/l), coronary flow rate returned to initial levels while cardiac work became further depressed despite normoxic levels of NADH. These data support that indometacin also has a direct suppressive effect on the myocardium independent of its coronary vascular effect. This conclusion is supported by the observation that addition of sodium arachidonate (6 x 10(-5) mol/l) completely inhibited the vascular effect of indometacin, but not the depressive effect on the myocardium. The divalent cation ionophore A23187 (6 x 10(-6) mol/l) had a strong positive chronotropic effect on the heart and a biphasic effect on coronary flow rate. After a brief period of increased coronary flow rate, presumably due to coronary vasodilatation, the ionophore caused a sustained reduction in coronary flow, and this was accompanied by high myocardial levels of NADH fluorescence of characteristically heterogeneous pattern. This is presumably caused by vasoconstrictory effects of elevated levels of intracellular Ca2+ of vascular smooth muscle, independent of stimulation of 5-lipoxygenase or cyclooxygenase pathways, since neither indometacin nor nordihydroguaiaretic acid modified the effect of A23187.

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The recovery of coronary flow and cardiac work was studied in isolated guinea pig hearts (working-heart preparation) after successive bolus injections of leukotriene D4 (LTD4) at increasing doses (0.01-1,000 ng). LTD4 caused an immediate (within 1 min) reduction in coronary flow and cardiac work and an increase in myocardial NADH fluorescence. There was limited spontaneous recovery at any dose and at the end of the cumulative LTD4 study, coronary flow recovered only from 41.4 +/- (SE) 3.5 (n = 10) to 53.5 +/- 4.7% of initial values, and cardiac work recovered from 21.2 +/- 4.1 to 33.1 +/- 5.6% (P less than 0.05). Adenosine (1 X 10(-6) M) or iloprost (1 X 10(-7) M) restored coronary flow but not cardiac work after LTD4 injections, in contrast to full recovery of cardiac work observed in hearts subjected to a similar degree of ischemia induced by reducing the coronary flow by a peristaltic pump, or hypoxia caused by reducing PO2 of the perfusion fluid. Adenosine (1 X 10(-6) M) and forskolin (1 X 10(-6) M) in combination, or iloprost (1 X 10(-7) M) and isoproterenol (1 X 10(-8) M) in combination, restored both coronary flow and cardiac work to control levels. Myocardial NADH levels, which increased immediately after LTD4 injections, returned to normal after perfusion with adenosine or iloprost. The data suggest that LTD4 has a prolonged vasoconstrictive effect on the heart. Reversal of this effect by compounds that stimulate adenylate cyclase of the vascular tissue (adenosine, prostacyclin) revealed a direct suppressive effect on the myocardium independent of the vascular effect and myocardial ischemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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The interaction between leukotriene D4 and adenosine or the prostacyclin analogue iloprost was studied in isolated guinea-pig hearts. Adenosine (1 X 10(-6) M) or iloprost (5 X 10(-8) M) abolished or greatly attenuated the vasoconstrictive effect of leukotriene D4 over a wide dose range of leukotriene D4 (0.01-1000 ng), and myocardial ischemia as a consequence of coronary insufficiency completely disappeared. Comparison of myocardial levels of reduced pyridine nucleotide fluorescence in hearts treated with leukotriene D4 and in hearts subjected to varying degrees of high-flow hypoxia, or the calcium agonist BAY-K 8644, revealed low levels of reduced pyridine nucleotides in the leukotriene D4-treated hearts, suggesting that leukotriene D4 directly suppressed myocardial contractility. These findings were supported by full restoration of cardiac work by the receptor antagonist FPL 55712 following leukotriene D4 treatment. It is concluded that adenosine and iloprost are potent inhibitors of leukotriene D4-induced reduction in coronary flow in guinea-pig hearts, and that myocardial ischaemia and suppressed cardiac work are prevented during leukotriene D4 study in adenosine or iloprost perfused hearts. Low levels of myocardial-reduced pyridine nucleotides during leukotriene D4 treatment and restoration of cardiac work by FPL 55712 indicate that leukotriene D4 may also have a direct suppressive effect on myocardial contractility.

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Measurement of the weight of desmosterol produced during its biosynthesis in the presence of tritiated water and triparanol has permitted a direct determination of the relative flux of carbon and tritium (the H/C ratio) into sterol in hepatocytes. The H/C ratio increased with time of incubation irrespective of the nutritional state of the donor animals. This increase was more marked in hepatocytes from starved animals. Pyruvate and lactate increased, and glucagon decreased, the sterol H/C ratio. Addition of pyruvate to incubations containing glucagon resulted in a 32-67% increase in the H/C ratio depending upon nutritional status. Insulin had no effect whilst (-)-hydroxycitrate decreased the ratio by 25%.

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The activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) varied with a diurnal periodicity in hepatocytes prepared at different times from rats accustomed to a controlled feeding and lighting schedule. The rates of sterol synthesis varied in a similar manner but the maximum rate was not synchronous with maximum HMG-CoA reductase activity. The diurnal increase in HMG-CoA reductase activity and sterol synthesis rate started before food was offered to donor animals. Neither insulin nor glucagon had any effect on the diurnal pattern of hepatic sterol synthesis in vitro. Pyruvate inhibited sterol synthesis in hepatocytes prepared during the feeding period but had no effect at other times of day. When food was withheld from donor animals at the beginning of the normal feeding period both HMG-CoA reductase activity and the rate of sterol synthesis rapidly decreased. During this period neither insulin nor lipogenic substrates, alone or in combination, were able to restore the rates of sterol synthesis to normal values. In hepatocytes prepared from animals starved for a longer period (43 h) the decrease in the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was much less than that in the rate of sterol synthesis. In contrast to hepatocytes from fed or short-term-starved animals, the rate of sterol synthesis in these hepatocytes could be increased by glucose or pyruvate.

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In rat hepatocytes freshly isolated from donor rats at different times of the day, the rates of lipogenesis (de novo fatty acid synthesis) varied with a diurnal periodicity. The maximal rate occurred approximately 5 hr after the end of the normal 8-hr feeding period and at this time was four- to fivefold higher than the minimum rate which occurred midway through the feeding period. A similar diurnal pattern of change persisted even when the supply of lipogenic substrate, present in the medium as pyruvate, was not limiting. Although insulin stimulated the basal rates of lipogenesis to different relative extents in hepatocytes isolated at different times of the day, in absolute terms the hormone had little effect on the overall pattern of change during the diurnal cycle. The presence of pyruvate protected lipogenesis against inhibition by glucagon. The degree of protection varied over the diurnal cycle. During the early stages of starvation (up to 24 hr) there was a continuous decline in the rate of hepatocyte lipogenesis, irrespective of whether insulin and/or lipogenic substrate (pyruvate) were available or not. After this time the decline in the rate of lipogenesis was much less rapid. Seventeen hr after removal of food from donor rats, a point was reached beyond which pyruvate was incapable of supporting the maximum basal rate of lipogenesis which occurred during the normal diurnal cycle of fed rats. After this time lipogenesis in the presence of pyruvate was inhibited by glucagon to a much greater relative extent than that observed during feeding. The results suggest that variations in the rate of lipogenesis over the diurnal cycle and during the first 24 hr of starvation could not be accounted for entirely by fluctuations in substrate availability. In contrast, changes which occurred subsequent to this (up to 43 hr of starvation) could be eliminated when lipogenic substrate was made more abundant. Longer periods of starvation were marked by a relative increase in the ability of glucagon to prevent the substrate-induced stimulation of lipogenesis.

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The effects of insulin, glucagon, pyruvate, and lactate on the rate of sterol synthesis and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase activity were determined in hepatocytes obtained at different times of the day from rats maintained on a controlled lighting and feeding schedule. In hepatocytes from animals killed immediately before the start of the feeding period (D0 hepatocytes), the initially low activity of HMG-CoA reductase increased during incubation while that in hepatocytes prepared 6 h later (D6 hepatocytes) remained constantly high. The rates of sterol synthesis followed similar patterns of change. In both D0 and D6 cells, insulin stimulated HMG-CoA reductase but had little or no effect on the rates of sterol synthesis. In both types of cell preparation glucagon maximally suppressed HMG-CoA reductase activity at a concentration of 10(-7) M, but there was relatively little change in the rates of sterol synthesis. Both pyruvate and lactate mitigated the glucagon-mediated inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase. Each of these lipogenic precursors alone suppressed the rate of sterol synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. These changes were more apparent in the simultaneous presence of insulin and were greater in the D0 compared to the D6 hepatocytes. In the presence of lactate or pyruvate, the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was elevated, and the increase was greater when insulin was simultaneously present. In general, changes in the rate of fatty acid synthesis were positively correlated with changes in the activity of HMG-CoA reductase. These observations suggest that the latter changes are required to compensate for variations in the availability of simple precursors for sterol synthesis.

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A retrospective evaluation was carried out on the standard duodenal perfusion technique in human subjects. Polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000), non-labelled or labelled with 14C, and phenol red were used as duodenal and gastric recovery markers, respectively. The evaluation was limited to the 2-h equilibration period in each study. The studies were carried out on the subjects sitting in an armchair. Multi-perforated wide-bore aspiration tubes accompanied with air ventiles were used for duodenal and gastric aspiration. High perfusion flow rates (less than or equal to 13.5 ml min-1) and a long perfusion segment (15-20 cm) were applied in the duodenum and the collection periods were kept short. An efficient gastric and duodenal aspiration was obtained in most studies with a limited gastro-duodenal and duodeno-gastric flux. On average, the fluctuations in concentration of the duodenal marker (PEG 4000) ('steady state'), expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV), were 13.1 +/- 1.0% (SEM, n = 66). Correlation analysis suggested that the 'steady state' conditions in the duodenum were improved by an efficient gastric and duodenal aspiration and a high perfusion flow rate. This was supported by an inverse correlation found between the magnitude of the gastro-duodenal flux and the marker's fluctuations, the efficiency of the gastric aspiration and the magnitude of the gastro-duodenal flux, and the efficiency of the duodenal aspiration and the magnitude of the duodeno-gastric flux. A high correlation was found between the two duodenal perfusion markers used, PEG 4000 and 14C PEG 4000.

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The standard duodenal perfusion technique was used to measure biliary and pancreatic secretion in normal subjects, with and without jejunal reinfusion of aspirated duodenal fluid. In studies carried out without reinfusion of the duodenal aspirate, and where a continuous background stimulation of caerulein and secretin was given throughout the studies to eliminate extrahepatic biliary storage, a gradual fall in bile salt and bilirubin secretion was observed. In contrast, when the experiments were carried out in these same individuals, and under exactly the same experimental conditions except that the duodenal aspirate, rich in bile and pancreatic juice, was in every successive collection period reinfused into the jejunum, the bile salt secretion remained stable and the bilirubin secretion increased. In neither series of studies were there any definite changes in the secretory output of trypsin. The total secretory output of bicarbonate was, however, marginally greater in studies carried out with jejunal reinfusion of the aspirate than in the studies where the aspirate was discarded. Carried out under basal conditions, a gradual fall in both biliary and pancreatic secretion was observed in both series of studies. These results indicate that partial diversion of bile and pancreatic juice from the jejunum in man may affect hepato-biliary secretion of bile salts and bilirubin and the secretion of bicarbonate.

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Physiochemical studies were carried out on the tricarbocyanine dye indocyanine green in biological fluids and organic solvents. The molar lineic absorbance epsilon of the compound was highest in organic solvents (methanol, 1.2-propanediol, dimethylformamide) and bile, but lowest in water and duodenal fluid. Indocyanine green remained stable in methanol and bile (t1/2 greater than 1 year) but was rapidly decomposed to a colourless derivative in duodenal fluid and distilled water (t1/2 3.6 days and 1.4 days, respectively). It was thermostable (120 degrees C) in methanol and 1.2-propanediol but thermolabile in water and dimethylformamide where the activation energy for the decomposition reaction was low. At ambient temperature (20 degrees C) indocyanine green was particularly labile at pH less than 5 and pH greater than 11. The rate of decay of indocyanine green in various solvents indicated that the rate limiting step in the decay process was either a first or zero order reaction.

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Indocyanine green (ICG) obeyed the Beer-Lambert law within the concentration range 1.25 micrograms/ml-10.0 micrograms/ml in distilled water, methanol, dimethylformamide (DMF), 1.2-propanediol and aqueous buffers (pH 9.0), but only up to 7.5 micrograms/ml in human bile and 0.5% human albumin, and only to 5.0 micrograms/ml in human duodenal fluid. ICG was rapidly (less than 1 h) decomposed to a colorless derivative at pH less than 5 and greater than 11, but remained relatively stable for 48 h at pH 8-10. ICG is an indicator and a weak acid with a pKa of 3.27. In bile stabilized with 25% methanol, the precision of the method (CV) is 5% and the accuracy is 106-127%.

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The uptake of 99mTc-pertechnetate (TcO4), 99mTc-iron-ascorbic acid (Feasc), 99mTc-Solcocitran (Solcocitran), 99mTc-diphosphonate (HEDP) and 67Ga-citrate (Ga) in various brain lesions was compared. Influence of time from injection was also studied on the first three compounds. A rank correlation method was used to compare the scans which were judged visually by three independent observers. There was good agreement between the observers, as measured by Kendall's tau, but the concordance between rankings within the same type of lesion, as measured by Kendall's W, was rather poor. There was no significant difference in the uptake of TcO4, Feasc and Solcocitran. Ga showed generally poor uptake and its uptake in tumours and infarcts did not differ significantly. However, when HEDP and TcO4 were compared in two groups (I: Infarcts, haemorrhages and bone invading meningiomas, and II: Tumours not invaded into bone) a highly significant difference was obtained with much higher uptake of HEDP in Group I.

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