Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P02794 (ferritin)
 17,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Isolated rat liver lysosomes were incubated with [14C]methemoglobin under various conditions. Optimal pH for the in vitro proteolysis was found to be 4-5. To evaluate whether or not degradation of added proteins could be due to enzyme leakage the integrity of the lysosomes was measured. Isolated lysosomes were found to be stable for up to 10 min of incubation at pH 5.5 and for 30 min at pH 7. The degradation of three different proteins (methemoglobin, ovalbumin, and lysozyme) was analyzed. No correlation was detected between rate of breakdown and physical properties of the proteins. Leupeptin, chloroquine, and propylamine inhibited proteolysis of added proteins by 45-65% in both neutral and acid milieu. Possible energy requirement was tested by the addition of Mg2+ and ATP to the incubation medium. A dose-dependent increase in proteolytic rate was found when ATP was added to the lysosomal suspension, a finding most likely due to acidification of the lysosomes and ensuing increased degradation. GTP and ITP were somewhat less effective. The noncleavable ATP analogue 5'-adenylylimidodiphosphate gave no stimulation. The ATP-driven proteolysis was inhibited by ethylmaleimide. Isolated lysosomes were also incubated with ferritin in order to visualize a possible uptake process of a protein in the electron microscope. Following incubation, ferritin particles were seen inside intralysosomal vesicles which appeared to be formed by invagination of the lysosomal membrane, a process designated microautophagy. The results thus support the notion that isolated lysosomes may micropinocytose and degrade exogenously added proteins and that this process is ATP dependent.
 ...
PMID:Uptake--microautophagy--and degradation of exogenous proteins by isolated rat liver lysosomes. Effects of pH, ATP, and inhibitors of proteolysis. 396 51

The objective of this review is to examine the biogenesis of lysosomes during the endocytic flow of plasma membrane. Two models have been proposed to explain the formation of lysosomes by this process: the "maturational" and the "stationary" models. According to the former, pinocytotic vesicles fuse among themselves to yield endosomes, which in turn, transform first into multivesicular bodies (MVB) and then into mature lysosomes. Therefore, endosomes and lysosomes would be transient organelles. On the other hand, the "stationary" model proposes that the endocytic pathway is formed by functionally and physically distinct compartments. Cultured cells exposed to ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) and leupeptin after a pulse of cationic ferritin were recently used to freeze endosomes and lysosomes. NH4Cl produced a retention of cationic ferritin in endosomes, indicating that this agent interfered with the endosomal/lysosomal progression. Leupeptin did not affect this process. The number of lysosomes increased in cells treated with both lysosomotropic agents. Thus, NH4Cl affected the endosomal and lysosomal compartments, whereas leupeptin had a preferential effect on lysosomes. Mice mutants with defects of plasma membrane degradation, including a Tay-Sachs model, a Sandhoff disease model, as well as, mice with the inactivated prosaposin gene were used to analyze the biogenesis of lysosomes. Thin sections of mutant cells were examined under the electron microscope, and the analysis revealed a selective accumulation of MVBs and the disappearance of lysosomes, suggesting that the formation of MVBs is a required step in lysosomal maturation and that the intravesicular content of MVBs is necessary for the digestion of plasma membrane components. Taken together, these data indicate that endosomes and MVBs are preceding steps in lysosomal biogenesis and that endosomes, MVBs, and lysosomes are transient organelles.
 ...
PMID:Biogenesis of lysosomes by endocytic flow of plasma membrane. 1090 40