Accumulation of glycoprotein in the Golgi apparatus of hepatocytes in alcoholic liver injuries.

Abstract

To clarify the role of the hepatocytic Golgi apparatus in the accumulation of proteins in the hepatocytes of alcoholic liver disease, changes in the Golgi apparatus in human and experimental alcoholic liver injuries were analyzed. Immunoelectron microscopically, transferrin, one of the secretory glycoproteins from the liver, was retained in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus of the hepatocytes in both human and rat alcoholic liver injuries. Biochemically, transferrin content in the Golgi fraction was clearly high in the rats with alcoholic liver injury. Desialo-glycoproteins were found in the serum of rats with alcoholic liver injuries. These results suggested that the glycosylation and secretion of hepatic glycoproteins in the Golgi apparatus were impaired in alcoholic liver injury. These abnormalities in the Golgi apparatus function may be important for the development of alcoholic liver injury.