Insights into the Secretory Pathway, the Mechanism of Terminal Glycosylation and Intracellular Peptide Hormone Receptors from Studies on Hepatic Golgi Fractions
Recent studies on purified subcellular fractions of hepatic Golgi apparatus have provided insight into the functioning of the Golgi apparatus in vivo.The hepatocyte is the site of synthesis of most circulating plasma proteins. On a total protein basis, purified Golgi fractions revealed mainly secretory content (albumin, transferrin and other plasma proteins) as major constituents. After an in vivo injection of radiolabeled leucine, newly synthesized secretory protein followed a temporal route from cis to trans regions of Golgi apparatus before appearance in the plasma. This route was revealed by studies on disrupted Golgi fractions enriched in disparate regions of the Golgi apparatus.The terminal glycosylation of secretory glcyoproteins (e.g. transferrin) can be studied by observing the transfer of UDP-(3H)-galactose to endogenous acceptors within Golgi fractions. Transfer was shown to occur to a glycolipid (dolichyl galactosyl phosphate) probably on the cytosolic aspect of the Golgi membrane. Translocation of the labeled galactose across the membrane coincided with fusion of Golgi saccules in vitro. It is felt that during the process of Golgi membrane fusion, inverted lipid- micellar membrane structures translocate the dolichyl galactosyl phosphate from a cytosolic to a luminal orientation. Luminally oriented dolichyl galactosyl phosphate would then serve as substrate for galactose transfer to intraluminal glycopeptide acceptors via intraluminal galactosyl transferase enzyme.