Model of rapid gastrointestinal transit in dogs: effects of muscarinic antagonists and a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor.

Our aims were to establish a canine model of rapid gastrointestinal transit, and to test the effects of muscarinic receptor antagonists (atropine, pirenzepine, AF-DX116, and darifenacin), and an NOS inhibitor, L-nitro-N-arginine (L-NNA) in this model. For gastric emptying and small bowel transit, 99mTc-labelled DTPA were added to a meal of skimmed milk (236 mL) that contained 2.4 g of magnesium hydroxide. Regional colonic transit was measured by111In-labelled beads placed in a capsule that released isotope in the proximal colon. Scintiscans were taken at regular intervals and indices of transit were calculated. Drugs were administrated intravenously. Gastric emptying, small bowel and colonic transit were rapid. Atropine and darifenacin (a selective M3 antagonist) delayed gastric emptying and colonic transit, the selective M1 and M2 muscarinic antagonists did not. The muscarinic blockers did not slow small bowel transit. L-NNA delayed small bowel and colonic transit but did not slow gastric emptying. A model suitable for the preclinical study of antidiarrhoeals was established. M3 receptors are important in the control of gastric emptying and colonic transit, and NOS inhibition slowed small bowel and colonic transit.

Motilides accelerate regional gastrointestinal transit in the dog.

BACKGROUND: Motilides have prokinetic effects on the upper gut during fasting, increasing the strength of antral contractions and stimulating gastroduodenal phase 3 sequences. Effects on the distal gut, and postprandially, are less well documented. AIM: To evaluate dose-response effects of motilin and erythromycin on gastric emptying, small bowel and colonic transit in the dog using a validated scintigraphic technique. METHODS: For gastric emptying and small bowel transit, 99mTc labelled beads were added to a meal of dog chow (450 kcal). Regional colonic transit was measured by 111In labelled beads placed in a capsule which dissolved and released radiation into the proximal colon. Scintiscans were taken at regular intervals and indices of whole-gut transit were calculated. Drugs were given by slow intravenous administration. RESULTS: In the doses used, motilin accelerated regional colonic transit but did not hasten gastric emptying or small bowel transit. Single or repeated doses of motilin had similar effects on colonic transit. Erythromycin accelerated gastric emptying, small bowel transit and regional colonic transit. CONCLUSIONS: Motilin receptors are apparently present in the canine small bowel and colon. Postprandially, motilides accelerate transit in the distal gut.

A valid, accurate, office based non-radioactive test for gastric emptying of solids.

BACKGROUND: Current breath tests for measurement of gastric emptying of solids are expensive, possibly inaccurate, and require cumbersome calculations. AIMS: We wished to validate a simplified solid gastric emptying test using a [(13)C]Spirulina platensis breath test for accurate results relative to scintigraphy. SUBJECTS: Thirty healthy volunteers. METHODS: We measured gastric emptying of egg containing [(13)C]S platensis and (99m)Tc sulphur colloid by breath (13)CO(2) and scintigraphy over six hours. A generalised linear regression model was used to predict t(1/2) and t(LAG) by scintigraphy from breath (13)CO(2) data. The model was cross validated and normative data calculated for a prepacked [(13)C]meal. RESULTS: Regression models using all breath data over six hours, for the first three hours, and for samples at 75, 90, and 180 minutes ("reduced model") predicted t(1/2) and t(LAG) values similar to scintigraphy (t(LAG) 43 (SD 12) min; t(1/2) 100 (20) min). Standard deviations of differences in t(1/2) and t(LAG) between scintigraphy and the "reduced model" were both 10 minutes. Gastric t(1/2) for the prepacked [(13)C]meal was 91 (15) min (10-90% range: 74-118). CONCLUSION: The [(13)C]S platensis breath test and a simple formula using breath (13)CO(2) at baseline, 90, and 180 minutes measured gastric emptying t(1/2) for solids with results that were comparable with scintigraphy.

Development of a test to measure gastric accommodation in humans.

Postprandial symptoms of bloating, distension, early satiety, and nausea are associated with impaired postprandial gastric accommodation, which is detectable by means of an intragastric, barostatically controlled balloon in the proximal stomach and by ultrasound in the distal stomach. Our aim was to develop a noninvasive method to measure the entire gastric accommodation reflex. In 10 healthy volunteers, we used single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to measure fasting and postprandial gastric volumes. This method involved intravenous injection of (99m)Tc pertechnetate and gastric reconstruction of tomographic images with Analyze software. SPECT-Analyze imaging detects the postprandial gastric accommodation reflex in vivo. Mean fasting gastric volume was 182 +/- 11 (SE) ml and mean postprandial volume was 690 +/- 32 ml (P < 0.001). Both proximal and distal segments of stomach showed a two- to almost fourfold difference in volumes postprandially. Intraobserver coefficients of variation in estimated fasting and postprandial volumes were 9 and 8%; interobserver variations were 13 and 12%, respectively. SPECT-Analyze noninvasively measures postprandial gastric (total, proximal, and distal) accommodation in humans. This method appears promising to compare the accommodation response in health and disease and to perform mechanistic studies of the accommodation response.

The effects of biofeedback on rectal sensation and distal colonic motility in patients with disorders of rectal evacuation: evidence of an inhibitory rectocolonic reflex in humans?

OBJECTIVE: Abnormalities of descending colon motility reported in a subset of patients with rectal evacuation disorders are consistent with a rectocolonic inhibitory reflex. Our aims were to evaluate distal colon motor function and rectal sensation in such patients and assess effects of biofeedback (BF) training on these functions. METHODS: Seven patients (five women, two men; mean age 36 yr) with rectal evacuation disorders were studied before and after 10-days biofeedback training; six healthy volunteers (five women, one man; mean age 30 yr) were studied once. Colonic compliance, motility, sensation thresholds, and perception scores during standardized rectal distentions were measured using two barostat-manometry assemblies inserted into the cleansed colon with the aid of flexible sigmoidoscopy. RESULTS: Sigmoid compliance, fasting, and postprandial motility index, and perception thresholds were similar in controls and patients before and after biofeedback training. Postprandial sigmoid tone tended (p = 0.09) to be lower in patients than controls; after biofeedback, postprandial tone was comparable to that in controls. Rectal urgency scores at 24 mm Hg distention were greater in patients than in controls (p = 0.02 for both). After biofeedback, there were trends for lower perceptions of urgency to defecate (7.6 +/- 1.1 cm pre- vs 5.3 +/- 1.5 post-; p = 0.04) at 24 mm Hg; conversely, gas sensation at 12 mm Hg was higher (1.2 +/- 0.5 cm pre- vs 3.3 +/- 0.6 post-; p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Normalization of rectal evacuation and postprandial sigmoid tone in patients with evacuation disorders by biofeedback training supports the presence of a rectocolonic inhibitory reflex. Effect of biofeedback on rectal sensation in these patients requires further study.

Scintigraphic measurement of regional gastrointestinal transit in the dog.

Scintigraphic techniques can measure sequentially gastric emptying, small bowel transit, and colonic transit in humans, and comparable methods for experimental studies in animals would be useful. We developed such a method in dogs and examined the effects of prokinetic drugs on regional transit. Two isotopes were given to fasting dogs. Polystyrene pellets labeled with 99mTc were mixed in a can of dog food and 111In- labeled pellets were given in a gelatin capsule coated with a pH-sensitive polymer, designed to dissolve in the distal bowel. Gamma camera images were obtained for up to 24 h. Prokinetic drugs were given by intravenous injection. Duplicate baseline studies showed good agreement in seven dogs. In a second group (n = 4), intra- and interanimal variabilities were established. Two novel prokinetic drugs (AU-116 and AU-130) accelerated small bowel and colonic transit. A simple noninvasive method for measuring whole gut transit in dogs was developed and validated. Two new prokinetics accelerated small bowel and colonic transit.

Duodenal motility in fasting dogs: humoral and neural pathways mediating the colonic brake.

We have previously described a negative feedback loop that inhibits duodenal motility when nutrients are infused into the ileum and colon. In the present study, we examined the role of extrinsic innervation and plasma levels of peptide YY (PYY) in mediating this phenomenon. We perfused neurally intact (n = 5 dogs) or extrinsically denervated (n = 6 dogs) isolated loops of proximal colon with isomolar NaCl or a mixed-nutrient solution at 2 and 6 ml/min for 4 h during fasting or for 2 h beginning 15 min after a meal. Both rates of infusion with NaCl prolonged the cycle length of the duodenal migrating motor complex (MMC) in the group with neurally intact loops but not in the group with extrinsically denervated loops. Nutrient infusions increased the MMC cycle length in both groups. Integrated plasma concentrations of PYY were increased by nutrients but not by NaCl in both groups. These data suggest that increased volumes and unabsorbed nutrients in the proximal colon alter proximal small bowel motility. Volume-induced effects are mediated via extrinsic nerves, whereas nutrient-induced effects may be mediated by humoral factors, such as plasma PYY.

SDZ HTF 919 stimulates canine colonic motility and transit in vivo.

Effects of the nonbenzamide 5-hydroxytryptamine4 agonist SDZ HTF 919 on gastrointestinal motility are unclear. Our aim was to assess the in vivo effects on gastrointestinal and colonic transit of radiolabeled residue and on colonic phasic contractility. In six female dogs, transit was measured over a period of 2 days by radioscintigraphy and colonic motility was measured by pneumohydraulic perfusion manometry of the proximal and distal colon. SDZ HTF 919 was administered initially by bolus i.v. infusion, followed by s.c. injection 8 and 16 hr later. Doses tested were 0.03, 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, and isotonic saline and vehicle served as controls in each dog. Stomach and small bowel transit was not significantly altered by SDZ HTF 919. Overall, i.v. SDZ HTF 919 accelerated colonic transit during the first 1 hr, compared with controls. These effects were significant even with the lowest dose of SDZ HTF 919. Responses to higher infusion doses were more variable. SDZ HTF 919 did not cause significant changes in quantitative pressure indices, such as amplitude or motor index, in the small bowel or colon. Prolonged postprandial colonic contractions, each lasting >30 sec, were noted after each i.v. agent and were significantly more frequent with the 0.03 mg/kg dose than with control (vehicle) treatment. Thus, SDZ HTF 919 accelerates canine colonic transit in vivo during the first 1 hr after i.v. administration. SDZ HTF 919 appears to be a promising agent for stimulation of mammalian colonic transit.

PYY and GLP-1 contribute to feedback inhibition from the canine ileum and colon.

To explore mechanisms whereby unabsorbed nutrients in the ileum inhibit the upper gut ("ileal brake"), we perfused the canine ileum or colon and monitored phase 3 in the duodenum. Fasting motility was recorded when the ileum or colon was perfused with 154 mM NaCl, a mixed isotonic nutrient solution (Ensure), or individual nutrients (maltose, casein hydrolysates, or sodium oleate). Blood samples were collected before and during the perfusions. The ileum was also perfused with 154 mM NaCl while peptide YY (PYY) was infused by vein. In both sets of experiments, plasma levels of PYY, neurotensin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured. Ileal or colonic perfusion of Ensure delayed phase 3 [migrating motor complexes (MMC)] in the duodenum, inhibited ileal motility, and increased plasma levels of PYY and GLP-1. Ileal casein and oleate and colonic casein also delayed the duodenal MMC. The MMC cycle length and plasma levels of PYY were closely correlated. Intravenous PYY prolonged the MMC cycle; an intravenous dose of 100 pmol.kg-1.h-1 of PYY mimicked the effects of ileal Ensure. These results support the hypothesis that PYY, and possibly GLP-1, participate in the ileal brake. This negative feedback loop also affects the distal small bowel. The proximal colon also triggers the feedback inhibition of gut motility (colonic brake).

Effects of serotonin on rat ileocolonic transit and fluid transfer in vivo: possible mechanisms of action.

The aim was to investigate the action of serotonin (5HT) on function of the ileocolonic junction (ICJ) in vivo. In anaesthetised rats, models were developed to study the effects of intra-aortic (ia) serotonin on ileocolonic and colonic transit, and the effects on transit of a number of 5HT receptor antagonists. In the first series of experiments, a bolus of saline labelled with 99mTc DTPA was instilled 20 cm proximal to the ICJ and transit was assessed three hours later by the geometric centre of the spread of isotope. In the second series, similar techniques were used on the postcaecal colon and transit assessed two hours later. In the third series of experiments, the effects of ia 5HT on ileal net fluid flux was evaluated by standard perfusion experiments with 14C polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 as a non-absorbable marker in rat plasma-like electrolyte solution. Compared with ia saline, 5HT accelerated ICJ transit significantly (p < 0.05). This acceleration was comparable with the effect of ia bethanechol. The effects of 5HT on ICJ transit were inhibited by the intraperitoneal (ip) infusion of atropine, the 5HT receptor antagonists, methysergide, ketanserin, zacopride, and the 5HT4 agonist, SC53116. Methysergide, zacopride, and SC53116 given with ia 5HT slowed ICJ transit to rates below those of ia saline alone. When these same agents were given together with ia saline, the ICJ transit was not significantly altered. Serotonin, at the dose that accelerated ICJ transit, did not significantly alter colonic transit or ileal fluid transport. In conclusion, 5HT is a potent pharmacological stimulant of transit across the rat ICJ in vivo; the action of 5HT is mediated partly through muscarinic neurones and several 5HT receptor subtypes.

Hepatic processing of recombinant human renin: mechanisms of uptake and degradation.

Biologically active 125I-Bolton-Hunter-labeled recombinant human renin (BH-renin) was used to study hepatic processing of renin both in vivo in bile fistula rats and in vitro in isolated perfused rat livers. BH-renin was composed mainly (80%) of a form that bound to concanavalin A-agarose (CB-renin). Twenty minutes after femoral venous injection of CB-renin in vivo, 47% of injected radiolabel was present in liver. Hepatic uptake of CB-renin was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by mannosylated bovine serum albumin (MBSA) and mannan, but was unaffected by asialofetuin and mannose 6-phosphate. MBSA also significantly inhibited the plasma disappearance of endogenous renin in kidney-ligated rats. Cell separation techniques and light microscopic autoradiography showed that CB-renin was preferentially cleared by hepatic nonparenchymal cells via the mannose receptor, but was also cleared by hepatocytes via an unidentified mechanism. Tissue fractionation demonstrated that after injection of CB-renin, radiolabel was concentrated in lysosome-enriched liver fractions. In the liver, CB-renin was rapidly degraded to trichloroacetic acid-soluble fragments, which accumulated in urine and bile. Leupeptin, an inhibitor of lysosomal proteases, decreased degradation of CB-renin by 60%; vinblastine and colchicine, microtubule binding agents, each inhibited CB-renin degradation by 40%. Our results show that the liver plays a major role in the regulation of plasma renin levels via clearance by the mannose receptor on nonparenchymal cells and subsequent degradation in lysosomes.

Lack of metabolic effects of cholecystokinin on hepatocytes.

We previously reported that the liver was the major organ that extracts small, biologically active, circulating forms of cholecystokinin. Although our work indicated extensive degradation of cholecystokinin extracted from plasma during its transit across the hepatocyte, it was unclear whether cholecystokinin might also have a physiological effect on this cell before its intracellular degradation. Therefore we tested the hypothesis that cholecystokinin has a direct biological effect on hepatocytes. Using freshly isolated or cultured hepatocytes, we studied whether cholecystokinin-octapeptide alters protein synthesis, affects amino acid transport or influences cytosolic free calcium concentrations. Using liver slices, we also determined the effect of cholecystokinin-octapeptide on cyclic nucleotide levels. Cholecystokinin-octapeptide, up to a concentration of 1 mumol/L, had no effect on the incorporation of radiolabeled amino acids into total hepatocyte protein; in contrast, comparable molar amounts of insulin stimulated protein synthesis by as much as 37% (ED50 = 1.5 x 10(-10) mol/L). Although insulin and glucagon stimulated the transport into hepatocytes of 14C-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid, a nonmetabolizable amino acid analog, cholecystokinin-octapeptide had no affect Cholecystokinin-octapeptide also did not affect either the concentration of calcium in individual hepatocytes, as measured by digitized video microscopy using Fura-2, or the levels of cyclic AMP or cyclic GMP in liver slices. Our results show that cholecystokinin has no effect on protein synthesis, on amino acid transport or on hepatocyte calcium and cyclic nucleotide levels. These and our previous data suggest that the primary outcome of hepatic extraction of cholecystokinin is hormone degradation.

Physicochemical determinants in hepatic extraction of small peptides.

Although the liver is known to extract amino acids and organic anions by well-characterized transport systems, the factors that regulate the hepatic uptake of small, circulating peptides are poorly understood. We previously reported that cholecystokinin octapeptide, a biologically active form of cholecystokinin, is efficiently cleared by the liver and that uptake depends on its carboxyl-terminal tetrapeptide (Trp-Met-Asp-PheNH2). Here we further define the physicochemical determinants for hepatic clearance of cholecystokinin. A series of 13 tetrapeptides, including eight analogs of the carboxyl-terminal tetrapeptide of cholecystokinin-8 with different charges, hydrophobicity and amino-acid sequences, were prepared by solid-phase synthesis, purified by high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by amino-acid analysis and mass spectrometry. Radioiodination was performed by oxidative or nonoxidative techniques. Hydrophobicity of individual radiolabeled peptides was calculated using published hydrophobicity data or measured directly by determining their partition between octanol and aqueous triethylammonium acetate. First-pass hepatic extraction of radiolabeled peptides was determined with a nonrecirculating, isolated, perfused rat liver model. First-pass hepatic extraction of injected, labeled peptides varied from 4% to 86% and correlated significantly (r = 0.85; p less than 0.0002) with hydrophobicity. Hydrophobic peptides with positive, neutral or negative charges were avidly extracted (30% to 86%) by the liver; first-pass clearance of hydrophobic peptides with similar charges varied with amino-acid sequence. In contrast, the first-pass hepatic extraction of positively or negatively charged hydrophilic tetrapeptides was negligible (less than 10%). These results suggest that hydrophobicity and amino-acid sequence--but not anionic or cationic nature--are the major determinants of hepatic extraction of cholecystokinin, and perhaps other small, circulating peptides.

Processing of cholecystokinin by isolated liver cells.

Although hepatic uptake of cholecystokinin (CCK) has been demonstrated, the liver cell involved and the mechanism of uptake remain unclear. We have used dispersed rat hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and hepatic endothelial cells to characterize uptake and metabolism of radiolabeled CCK peptides. Only rat hepatocytes showed significant uptake of 125I-labeled cholecystokinin octapeptide (125I-CCK-8). Peptide specificity of uptake by hepatocytes was similar to that seen in the isolated perfused rat liver, with extraction of 125I-CCK-8 being sevenfold greater than that of 125I-CCK-33. Uptake was saturable, as 10(-4) M CCK-4 inhibited uptake of 125I-CCK-8 by 85%. Uptake was rapid, temperature dependent, and extensive and was decreased by metabolic inhibition, a proteolytic enzyme (trypsin), organic anions (sulfobromophthalein and taurocholic acid), and an inhibitor of anion transport 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid. In addition, uptake was dependent on extracellular anions but not on extracellular sodium, calcium, or magnesium. After uptake, hepatocytes released radiolabel in a time- and temperature-dependent manner, predominantly in metabolized forms. Thus the hepatocyte is the liver cell that extracts CCK by an active, anion-dependent process. The characteristics of the uptake process resemble those described for organic anions and small, cyclic peptides and suggest that small, linear peptides may undergo hepatocyte extraction by a similar mechanism.

Biliary copper excretion by hepatocyte lysosomes in the rat. Major excretory pathway in experimental copper overload.

We investigated the hypothesis that lysosomes are the main source of biliary copper in conditions of hepatic copper overload. We used a rat model of oral copper loading and studied the relationship between the biliary output of copper and lysosomal hydrolases. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given tap water with or without 0.125% copper acetate for up to 36 wk. Copper loading produced a 23-fold increase in the hepatic copper concentration and a 30-65% increase in hepatic lysosomal enzyme activity. Acid phosphatase histochemistry showed that copper-loaded livers contained an increased number of hepatocyte lysosomes; increased copper concentration of these organelles was confirmed directly by both x ray microanalysis and tissue fractionation. The copper-loaded rats showed a 16-fold increase in biliary copper output and a 50-300% increase in biliary lysosomal enzyme output. In the basal state, excretory profiles over time were similar for biliary outputs of lysosomal enzymes and copper in the copper-loaded animals but not in controls. After pharmacologic stimulation of lysosomal exocytosis, biliary outputs of copper and lysosomal hydrolases in the copper-loaded animals remained coupled: injection of colchicine or vinblastine produced an acute rise in the biliary output of both lysosomal enzymes and copper to 150-250% of baseline rates. After these same drugs, control animals showed only the expected increase in lysosomal enzyme output without a corresponding increase in copper output. We conclude that the hepatocyte responds to an increased copper load by sequestering excess copper in an increased number of lysosomes that then empty their contents directly into bile. The results provide direct evidence that exocytosis of lysosomal contents into biliary canaliculi is the major mechanism for biliary copper excretion in hepatic copper overload.

Hepatic extraction of renin: quantitation and characterization in the isolated perfused rat liver.

Since the liver is thought to be the major organ for the metabolism of renin, the rate-limiting enzyme in the renin-angiotensin cascade, we examined the kinetics and regulation of renin extraction by the isolated perfused rat liver. Partially purified, hog kidney renin was continuously infused into isolated rat livers perfused in a nonrecirculating manner with serum-free medium. Concentrations of renin in the portal and hepatic veins were measured by radioimmunoassay and first-pass hepatic extraction calculated. In livers from normal rats, steady-state, first-pass hepatic extraction of porcine renin ranged from 12.3 +/- 0.9 to 25.5 +/- 3.9% of the infused dose; at high renin infusion rates, hepatic extraction was saturable. Administration of captopril, a converting enzyme inhibitor, decreased hepatic extraction of renin by approximately 60%; enalaprilat, another converting enzyme inhibitor, had no effect. First-pass hepatic extraction of renin was also inhibited by the bile acid, taurocholate, in a dose-dependent manner. However, bilateral nephrectomy, which reduced endogenous plasma renin activity to unmeasurable levels, had no significant effect on hepatic extraction of renin by livers isolated from nephrectomized rats. These results demonstrate directly that the liver extracts renin in a dose-dependent and saturable manner, although the precise mechanism of uptake remains to be determined.

Hepatic processing of transforming growth factor beta in the rat. Uptake, metabolism, and biliary excretion.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta), a recently discovered polypeptide, modulates growth of normal and neoplastic cells. Since little is known concerning in vivo disposition of TGF beta, we performed studies to examine the hepatic processing of biologically active 125I-TGF beta in the rat. After intravenous injection, 125I-TGF beta disappeared from the plasma with an initial t1/2 of 2.2 min; partial hepatectomy delayed the plasma disappearance of 125I-TGF beta by 80%. 60 min after intrafemoral injection, 63% of the recovered label was present in liver and/or bile; by 90 min, most of the label removed by the liver (83%) had been slowly excreted into bile. Nearly all the label in bile (96%) was soluble in trichloracetic acid and not immunoprecipitable by specific antiserum. Colchicine and vinblastine inhibited cumulative biliary excretion of label by 28 and 37%, respectively; chloroquine and leupeptin each increased the amount of label in bile that was precipitable by trichloracetic acid and that coeluted with authentic 125I-TGF beta on molecular sieve chromatography. There was efficient first-pass hepatic extraction of 125I-TGF beta (36%) in the isolated perfused rat liver, which was inhibited by unlabeled TGF beta (but not by epidermal growth factor, EGF) and by lectins in a dose-dependent manner; prolonged fasting also decreased clearance (26%). After fractionation of liver by differential or isopycnic centrifugation, radiolabel codistributed with marker enzymes for lysosomes. The results indicate rapid, extensive, inhibitable, and organ-selective extraction of TGF beta by the liver. After extraction, TGF beta undergoes efficient transhepatic transport, extensive intracellular metabolism, and slow but complete biliary excretion of its metabolites. Liver fractionation studies and pharmacologic manipulations suggest that these processes are associated with organelles that include microtubules and lysosomes. The data suggest that the liver is a major target tissue or site of metabolism for biologically active TGF beta.

Biliary excretion of iron from hepatocyte lysosomes in the rat. A major excretory pathway in experimental iron overload.

In these experiments, we assessed the role of hepatocyte lysosomes in biliary excretion of iron. We loaded rats with iron by feeding 2% carbonyl iron and collected bile for 24 h via bile fistulae from iron-loaded and control rats. In additional rats, bile was collected before and after the administration of colchicine. Rats were then killed and their livers were homogenized and fractionated for biochemical analyses or processed for electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis. Inclusion of 2% carbonyl iron in the diet caused a 45-fold increase (P less than 0.001) in hepatic iron concentration compared with controls (1,826 +/- 159 vs. 38 +/- 6.7 micrograms/g liver, mean +/- SE). Electron microscopy with quantitative morphometry and x-ray microanalysis showed that the excess iron was sequestered in an increased number of lysosomes concentrated in the pericanalicular region of the hepatocyte. Iron loading was also associated with a twofold increase in biliary iron excretion (4.06 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.75 +/- 0.1 micrograms/g liver/24 h; P less than 0.001). In contrast, the biliary outputs of three lysosomal enzymes were significantly lower (P less than 0.0005) in iron-loaded rats compared with controls (mean +/- SE) expressed as mU/24 h/g liver: N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, 26.7 +/- 4.6 vs. 66.2 +/- 13.4; beta-glucuronidase, 10.1 +/- 1.3 vs. 53.2 +/- 17.9; beta-galactosidase, 8.9 +/- 1.0 vs. 15.4 +/- 2.3. In iron-loaded rats but not in controls, biliary iron excretion was coupled to the release into bile of each of the three lysosomal hydrolases as assessed by linear regression analysis (P less than 0.001). In contrast, no relationships were found between biliary iron excretion and the biliary outputs of a plasma membrane marker enzyme (alkaline phosphodiesterase I) or total protein. After administration of colchicine, there was a parallel increase in biliary excretion of iron and lysosomal enzymes in iron-loaded rats, but not controls. We interpret these data to indicate that, in the rat, biliary iron excretion from hepatocyte lysosomes is an important excretory route for excess hepatic iron.

Triton WR-1339, a lysosomotropic compound, is excreted into bile and alters the biliary excretion of lysosomal enzymes and lipids.

In these experiments, we tested two hypothesis: first, that Triton WR-1339, a nonionic detergent which is sequestered in hepatocyte lysosomes, undergoes biliary excretion; and second, that Triton WR-1339, which also alters serum lipid levels and modifies hepatic catabolism of lipoproteins, affects the biliary output of proteins and lipids. When 3H-Triton WR-1339 was administered to rats, biochemical and morphologic studies showed that hepatocyte lysosomes sequestered Triton WR-1339: (i) the subcellular distribution of 3H was identical to that of lysosomal enzymes after liver fractionation by differential or isopycnic centrifugation, and (ii) lysosomes appeared engorged with Triton WR-1339 on electron microscopy. 3H was also excreted into bile in parallel to three lysosomal enzymes. Triton WR-1339 administration caused a coordinate increase in the biliary excretion of three lysosomal enzymes and also increased the biliary output of total protein, bile acids, and phospholipid. Triton WR-1339 administration did not affect bile flow or the biliary outputs of cholesterol, plasma membrane, and cytosolic enzymes, but did decrease biliary cholesterol saturation by 50%. These results demonstrate that an exogenous compound which is sequestered in hepatocyte lysosomes may be excreted directly into bile in parallel with endogenous lysosomal constituents. The data also show that such a lysosomotropic agent may also selectively modify the biliary excretion of proteins and lipids. The findings are consistent with the existence of a lysosome-to-bile hepatic excretory pathway and suggest that hepatocyte lysosomes may be important in modulating biliary protein and lipid secretion.