Adenine nucleotide translocase activity and sensitivity to inhibitors in hepatomas. Comparison of the ADP/ATP carrier in mitochondria and in a purified reconstituted liposome system.

Adenine nucleotide uptake was found to be lower in mitochondria from hepatoma 7777, 7800, and 9618A than in the host livers. Moreover, in the fast-growing hepatoma 7777 the sensitivity of the adenine nucleotide translocase to inhibition by carboxyatractylate and bongkrekic acid was considerably decreased. Purification of the ADP/ATP carrier from hepatoma 7777 mitochondria and its reconstitution into an artificial liposome system reversed the abnormal kinetics in that the adenine nucleotide uptake and response to inhibitors were identical in proteoliposome preparations from host liver and tumor mitochondria. Analysis of the lipids of the hepatoma inner mitochondrial membrane indicated considerable differences from normal in the levels of phospholipids and cholesterol. Most striking was the increase in cholesterol and sphingomyelin of the hepatoma 7777 inner membrane. An artificial liposome system containing cholesterol in addition to the standard phospholipids could produce alterations in kinetics of the purified ADP/ATP carrier from heart mitochondria similar to those seen in the hepatoma 7777. In general, these results support the suggestion that alterations in the lipid environment of the inner mitochondrial membrane rather than intrinsic changes in the carrier protein itself produce the aberrant observations of adenine nucleotide translocase activity in hepatoma mitochondria.