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Biomedical subjects

H Lafont

Publications and source records attributed to H Lafont.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

A quantitative dynamic concept of the interphase partition of lipids: application to bile salt-lecithin-cholesterol mixed micelles.

A system is proposed for a quantitative classification of lipids, based on interphase partition coefficients. This system enables calculation of exchanges of lipid molecules between phases. The mass/volume chemical unit mol X cm-3, strictly derived from the CGS system, is used, thus simplifying mathematical relations. Applied to bile salt-lecithin-cholesterol mixed micelles, this dynamic concept gives new insight into the variations of physico-chemical parameters. Experimental results obtained with the glycodesoxycholate and the taurocholate show a striking difference in partition coefficients between aqueous and mixed bile salt-lecithin interfacial phases. A new model applying triangular co-ordinates to a bile salt-lecithin-cholesterol mixed lipid phase is described.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Immunocytochemical localization of pancreatic stone protein in the human digestive tract.

Recently, in our laboratory, a protein extracted from human pancreatic stones was characterized and purified and a specific antibody was obtained. This pancreatic stone protein (PSP) was shown to have an inhibitory effect on the CaCO3 crystal growth in vitro. The cellular origin of such a protein and its repartition along the digestive tract were studied by immunolocalization (protein A-colloidal gold method) at the ultrastructural level. Surgical biopsies of pancreata from normal or chronic pancreatitis patients, needle liver biopsies, gastric mucosa, and jejunum and duodenum biopsies were minced and fixed in the Karnovsky medium or in buffered 4% paraformaldehyde. The specimens were washed in buffer, dehydrated through ethanol, and embedded in Epon 812. Ultrathin sections, collected on uncoated nickel grids, were submitted to the following reactives at room temperature: protein A 1 mg/ml, anti-PSP (1:2 to 1:100), and protein A-colloidal gold. The specificity of the localization was checked by substituting buffer or nonimmune rabbit serum to anti-PSP. The stone protein was markedly present in the zymogen granules and condensing vacuoles of the normal pancreatic acinar cells, the label was found in the acinar and ductal lumen. In chronic pancreatitis, the localization of PSP, when it occurred, was extremely weak in the acinar cells. No PSP was specifically characterized in hepatocytes, gastric mucosa, and enterocytes. However, a weak but specific reaction was found in the secretory granules of Paneth cells. These results in pancreas confirm the acinar secretory origin of the PSP and are in good agreement with its possible function in stabilizing pancreatic juice in vivo, which is normally supersaturated in calcium carbonate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Calcium-Binding Proteins↗

Intestinal cholesterol uptake: comparison between mixed micelles containing lecithin or lysolecithin.

The aim of our study was to define the mechanism by which cholesterol uptake is inhibited by lecithin but not by lysolecithin. The work compared the cholesterol uptake by everted rat jejunal sacs from bile salt-lecithin-cholesterol or bile salt-lysolecithin-cholesterol micelles. The micellar size and the cholesterol saturation were measured. The size or molecular weight increases when the lecithin concentration rises, and the cholesterol uptake decreases and leads to zero when the micelles contain more than 30% lecithin. The size of bile salt-lysolecithin-cholesterol micelles is smaller than that of lecithin micelles in comparable molar ratios. Consistent with this result is the fact that, for a given phospholipid concentration, cholesterol uptake is greater in the presence of lysolecithin than in the presence of lecithin. The diffusion rate of the micelles through the unstirred water layer decreases when micellar size increases. However, the comparison of uptakes from lecithin or lysolecithin micelles similar in size and in cholesterol saturation showed that the cholesterol uptake is still lower for lecithin micelles. This shows that with larger micelles some factor other than micellar size and cholesterol content of the micelles is important. We observe that lysolecithin absorption is 15-fold greater than lecithin absorption. We suggest that lysolecithin absorption results in a rapid supersaturation with cholesterol leading to cholesterol absorption.

Animals↗

Hydrolysis of intralipid by pancreatic lipase and phospholipase A2-gel filtration studies.

Intralipid was incubated with pancreatic lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) and/or phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) at two bile salts/phosphatidylcholine molar ratios and at two different triglyceride hydrolysis rates using various amounts of lipase. Incubations were studied by gel filtration. Results show: During lipase action, three phases of lipids coexist: an emulsified phase, a micellar phase and an intermediate heavy phase sized between the two others. The equilibrium between each phase is dependent upon the bile salts concentration. Under these conditions, pancreatic lipase was at 60% bound to the emulsified phase, whereas pancreatic phospholipase A2 was bound at 94% to the micellar phase.

Animals↗

Purification of the human anionic polypeptide fraction of the apo-bile lipoprotein complex by zonal ultracentrifugation.

The two main proteic constituents of the human Apo-bile lipoprotein complex (BLC), i.e., the anionic polypeptide fraction (APF) and the IgA fragments, were separated by preparative zonal ultracentrifugation using a sucrose gradient containing 1.5 mM glycodesoxycholate. The purification of the APF was verified by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunology, and its amino acid composition then was determined. This procedure was used to obtain a polyclonal antiserum directed solely against the APF.

Amino Acids↗

Effects of dietary fibers and cholestyramine on the activity of pancreatic lipase in vitro.

Most experiments were conducted in the presence of human gallbladder bile; colipase and pancreatic lipase were purified using porcine pancreas. The adsorption of bile salts, phospholipids and cholesterol from the bile, together with that of pancreatic lipase was measured on wheat bran, cellulose, hemicellulose (xylan), slightly methylated pectin (42%) and cholestyramine. In contrast to cholestyramine which intensively binds biliary lipids (61.7-81.7%) and pancreatic lipase (47.5%), the fibers studied only had a low adsorbent power. The direct influence of these fibers and of cholestyramine at concentrations ranging from 0-5% on lipase activity was measured at constant pH, using two conventional assay systems, long chain triglycerides and tributyrin. In the presence of human bile and colipase, a drastic reduction in triglyceride hydrolysis by lipase was observed with cholestyramine (loss of 66-82%) and wheat bran (loss of 77-94%) at 1% concentration. The other fibers did not have any marked effects on enzyme activity. The use of a radio labeled lipase made it possible to demonstrate that the inhibitory effect of bran on enzyme activity was independent of adsorption phenomena on bran. The fraction of bran that can be solubilized in the aqueous phase, in fact, induced this reduction in activity. The presence of protein inhibitor in bran may be responsible for the reduction in pancreatic lipase activity.

Animals↗

Effect of wheat bran, pectin and cellulose on the secretion of bile lipids in rats.

We assayed the lipid content of bile from rats that had been fed either a standard diet (5% fat) or a high fat diet (25% fat, 1.2% cholesterol) in the presence or in the absence of various dietary fibers (namely, wheat bran, pectin and cellulose). The cholesterol concentration in bile from rats fed the high fat diet plus wheat bran or pectin was lower than that of the rats fed the high fat, high cholesterol diet without fiber. Bile phospholipids did not vary significantly from one group to another. In comparison to the standard diet, the high fat, high cholesterol diet led to a greater ratio of primary to secondary bile salts and a higher level of glycoconjugates. The observed differences may be explained by a variation in the metabolism of bile salts brought about by the difference in diet.

Animals↗

Acute effects of filipin on the plasmic, hepatic, and biliary cholesterol of the rat.

Twenty-one male Wistar rats, 13 weeks old, were fed ad libitum hyperlipidic diets (28% fats) loaded with cholesterol (1.2%) for 5 weeks. One group of 11 rats was fed saturated fats (diet group "S") and another group of 10 rats was fed polyunsaturated fats (diet group "PU"). On the day they were sacrificed 10 of the rats were injected intravenously with 1 mg of filipin. Contrary to the rats in diet group "PU," the rats in diet group "S" treated with filipin presented certain characteristics that were not found in the nontreated group: They provided evidence of biliary cholestasis accompanied by a decline in the level of secretion of bile salts and phospholipids into bile. The concentrations of both free and esterified cholesterol in plasma fell and the amount of (esterified) hepatic cholesterol rose, although there was no change due to the filipin in the amounts of hepatic phospholipids. Explanatory hypotheses for these phenomena were considered, first, at the site of plasma membranes where filipin binds selectively to the cholesterol in the membrane, causing a disruption which probably disturbs the absorbance of circulating lipoproteins, especially that of hepatocyte cells, particularly in diet group "PU." Second, the effects of filipin on subcellular membranes seem to disturb the secretion of lipids and lipoproteins into bile and plasma, especially in diet group "S." Last, at the intracellular level, filipin appears to have a blocking effect on the organelles involved in biliary lipid secretion. The activity of certain enzymes such as cholesterol esterase may also be blocked, particularly in diet group "S," which would explain the accumulation of esterified cholesterol in liver.

Alanine Transaminase↗

The molecular characteristics of a human pancreatic acidic phosphoprotein that inhibits calcium carbonate crystal growth.

A CaCO3-crystal-growth inhibitor was isolated from human pancreatic stones by using EDTA demineralization, followed by DEAE-Trisacryl chromatography. The isolated inhibitor was found to be a phosphoglycoprotein with Mr 14017 and having an unusual chemical composition. It is characterized by a high (42%) acidic amino acid content, but lacks methionine and gamma-carboxyglutamic acid. The protein contains 2.65 mol of P/mol of protein, as phosphoserine (2 mol) and phosphothreonine (0.5 mol). Isoelectric focusing of the protein yields one major band corresponding to an isoelectric point of 4.2. Immunochemical quantification of the crystal-growth inhibitor in pure pancreatic juice reveals that it constitutes 14% of the normal exocrine secretion. Our findings demonstrate that this is a novel secretory protein, which has no enzymic activity and which maintains pancreatic juice in a supersaturated state with respect to CaCO3.

Amino Acids↗

Implication of a tyrosine residue in the unspecific bile salt binding site of human pancreatic carboxylic ester hydrolase.

Tyrosine residues of the human pancreatic carboxylic-ester hydrolase (EC 3.1.1.1) (also referred to as cholesterol-ester hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.13) were nitrated in the ortho-position by the use of tetranitromethane. The specificity of the reaction has been verified and the inhibition observed was shown to be unrelated to the weak polymerization of the protein. Among the 27 tyrosines present in the enzyme, seven or eight were nitrated but only one residue, with a pK of 8.3, seems to be responsible for the loss of activity. This decrease in enzyme activity appears only in assays which were performed in the presence of bile salts, suggesting that of the two bile salt binding sites postulated on the enzyme, only one, referred to the as the 'unspecific site' (Lombardo, D. and Guy, O. (1980) Biochim. Act 611, 147-155), was modified. This is in agreement with the similar loss of enzyme activity observed on emulsified and soluble substrate. The most important result is the difference observed in experiments of the protective effects of bile salts. The protection with sodium taurodeoxycholate is independent of its critical micellar concentration, showing that monomers protect this site, whereas the protection observed in experiments with sodium cholate appears only for supramicellar concentrations of bile salt. Since this latter bile salt promotes the dimerization of the enzyme, we can conclude that a premicellar bile salt binding site (protected by monomers) is transformed in a functional micellar binding site (protected by micelles). This conformational transformation seems to be consecutive to the dimerization, as has been recently proposed.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Influence of acute injection of chloroquine on the biliary secretion of lipids and lysosomal enzyme on rats.

Phospholipids and cholesterol combine with a protein fraction (IgA and an acid polypeptide) in bile to form the bile lipoprotein complex. We wished to determine whether lysosomes participated only on IgA secretion or if their secretory role also involved the lipid components of the bile complex. This aspect was studied with a single acute injection of chloroquine, a lysosomotropic drug. The results show that a nonnegligible quantity of IgA travels through the lysosomes. In addition, phospholipid and cholesterol levels undergo a significant (P less than 0.05) decrease 1 hr after injection before increasing to normal levels. In contrast to the total inhibition of protein secretion (beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase), a transitory decrease of the secretion of bile lipids takes place that suggest secretory mechanisms involving organelles other than lysosomes.

Acid Phosphatase↗

On the probable involvement of arginine residues in the bile-salt-binding site of human pancreatic carboxylic ester hydrolase.

Modification of arginine residues with 2,3-butanedione inhibits the carboxylic-ester hydrolase activity on soluble and emulsified substrates when assayed with bile salts. The alpha-dicarbonyl reagent modifies seven of the nineteen arginine residues present per enzyme molecule. Nevertheless the inactivation with butanedione is greatly diminished when the protein is in the presence of negatively charged micellar bile salt. In these conditions we observe the protection of one arginine residue by sodium taurodeoxycholate and of two arginine residues by sodium cholate. This suggests that the carboxylic-ester hydrolase from human pancreatic juice contains at least two arginine residues essential for the activation by bile salts. All our data confirm the presence of two bile-salt-binding sites on the enzyme in which one arginine per site is involved and plays the general role of an anionic binding site. This study provides evidence that arginine residues may play an essential role in the interaction between bile salts and protein.

Amino Acids↗

Immunohistochemical localization of the apoproteins of the bile lipoprotein complex in the human intestine.

The human bile lipoprotein complex includes an apoprotein fraction of IgA fragments and an acidic polypeptide tightly bound to bile cholesterol and phosphatidylcholines. The fate of the intestinal bile lipoprotein complex was immunohistochemically studied. Its localization in the human duodenum is consistent with selective capture or synthesis. The result of both might be the presence of bile apoprotein in the bloodstream. These two mechanisms may explain the cross-reaction between the lipoprotein complex apoprotein and the high density lipoprotein.

Apolipoproteins↗

Adsorption of pancreatic (pro)phospholipase A2 to various physiological substrates.

The adsorption of pancreatic phospholipase was studied in vitro in the presence of egg yolk lipoprotein emulsion, Intralipid emulsion, and milk fat globules. When the emulsions are incubated with bile salts, the latter dissociate a considerable fraction of the phospholipids initially associated with the emulsions, leading to the coexistence of an emulsified phase and a phase of mixed micelles. After the addition of pancreatic phospholipase A2, gel filtration shows that the enzyme was more than 90% bound to mixed micelles, regardless of the type of emulsion used. Comparable results were obtained by replacing the bile salts with human gallbladder bile. In parallel, pancreatic zymogen was never found to be bound to any of the lipid structures present (emulsion or mixed micelles). When the catalytic site of pancreatic phospholipase A2 was blocked with 4-bromophenacylbromide, there was no fixation on mixed micelles. Fixation was restored by the presence of lysolecithins and fatty acids in the incubation mixtures. The partial transformation of all emulsified substrates to mixed micelles by bile salts in vivo would thus lead to optimum activity of pancreatic phospholipase A2.

Adsorption↗

Comparative immunohistochemical localization of IgA and of the IgA part of the bile lipoprotein complex in dog and rat liver.

In bile, phospholipids and cholesterol were found in close association with an apoprotein fraction which cross-reacted to antiserum anti-IgA. In order to determine the origin of the IgA part of the apo bile lipoprotein complex and to establish its relationship with IgA, th localizations of these two components in rat and in dog livers were compared. Two immunohistochemical methods were used. Whereas IgA was found on the sinusoidal surface of the hepatocytes, in cytoplasmic particles and in bile canaliculi, the IgA part of the apo bile lipoprotein complex was only detected in the bile canaliculi, and in particles which presented the same pattern of location as lysosomes. These results suggest that the IgA part of the apo bile lipoprotein complex could originate from the transit of a part of the internalized IgA via the lysosomal compartment of the hepatocytes.

Animals↗

Interaction of immunoglobulins and lipids in human gallbladder bile.

The lipoprotein complex from human gallbladder bile was challenged with anti-IgA and anti-IgG antisera in order to determine whether the apolipoprotein complex isolated from the detergent-free form of bile lipoprotein contains IgA and IgG. The apolipoprotein complex indeed crossreacts with anti-IgA and anti-IgG. In addition, the interactions of IgA and IgG with lipids were studied by ultracentrifugation and gel chromatography to determine whether these interactions occur in human bile.

Bile↗