Regulated degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase in permeabilized cells.

We have studied the regulated degradation of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase within the endoplasmic reticulum in cells permeabilized with digitonin. Using Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with a plasmid encoding HMGal, a chimeric protein containing the membrane domain of HMG-CoA reductase coupled to beta-galactosidase, we have demonstrated mevalonate and sterol-stimulated loss of beta-galactosidase activity. In pulse-chase experiments we have demonstrated mevalonate-stimulated degradation of both HMGal and HMG-CoA reductase. The rate of mevalonate-stimulated degradation observed in permeabilized cells tends to be slightly slower than that observed in intact cells treated with mevalonate and is dependent upon incubation of cells with mevalonate prior to permeabilization. The degradation process measured in this report extends a previous report of HMG-CoA reductase degradation in digitonin-permeabilized cells (Leonard, D. A., and Chen, H. W. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 7914-7919) by mimicking key physiological features of the in vivo process, including: stimulation by regulatory molecules, specifically mevalonate and sterols; inhibition by cycloheximide; and inhibition by an inhibitor of neutral cysteine proteases.