Secretion of high and low molecular weight phosphorylated apolipoprotein B by hepatocytes from control and diabetic rats. Phosphorylation of APO BH and APO BL.

Apolipoprotein B (apo B) phosphorylation was examined in primary cultures of hepatocytes from control and nonketotic streptozotocin diabetic rats. Following a 5-h incubation with ortho[32P]phosphate, media lipoproteins (d less than 1.063 g/ml) were isolated, and delipidated apolipoproteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGGE), and gels were heat fixed. Autoradiographic bands corresponding to high (apo BH) and low molecular weight apo B (apo BL) were observed in media lipoproteins isolated from control rats, and these bands were more prominent in media lipoproteins isolated from diabetic rats. Apo B-specific activity was estimated from aqueous alcohol-precipitated radioactivity and apo B monoclonal immunoassay of isolated media lipoproteins. In lipoproteins secreted by hepatocytes of diabetic rats, the calculated apo B specific activity was between 18- and 31-fold greater than that secreted by hepatocytes of control rats, consistent with the SDS-PAGGE gel data. The increase in secretory 32P-labeled apo B from hepatocytes of diabetic rats was due, at least in part, to an increase in labeled phospho-tyrosine as determined by phosphoamino acid analysis. These data demonstrate that apo BH may be secreted as a phosphorylated protein and that apo B phosphorylation occurs on tyrosine as well as serine residues.