The effect of colchicine on the intracellular transport of 3H-fucose-labelled glycoproteins in the absorptive cells of cultured human small-intestinal tissue. An autoradiographical and biochemical study.

The effect of colchicine on the intracellular transport of 3H-fucose-labelled glycoproteins in the absorptive cells of cultured biopsy specimens of the human intestine was investigated by light- and electron-microscopical autoradiography and by biochemical methods. The results showed a decrease in the radioactivity of the cell coat on the microvilli and an increase in the Golgi apparatus and in the apical vesicles and tubules. This divergence is attributed to a colchicine-induced impairment of the normal transport of cell-coat glycoproteins from the Golgi apparatus, via the apical vesicles and tubules, to the apex of the cell. The radioactivity of the lysosome-like bodies in the absorptive cells cultured with colchicine also increased. This finding supports a crinophagic function of these organelles in the degradation of excess cell-coat material.