Cytosolic lipoprotein particles from milk-secreting cells contain fatty acid synthase and interact with endoplasmic reticulum.

Part of the fatty acid synthase in cytosol from mammary glands of lactating rats was in a complex with other proteins and with lipids. This complex eluted in the void volume from a gel filtration column with an exclusion limit of 5,000,000, and remained in a 3% polyacrylamide stacking gel during electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. Fatty acid synthase-containing lipoprotein particles ranged in density from 1.07 to 1.16 g/ml, and varied in protein to lipid ratios. Similar fatty acid synthase particles were present also in cytosol from cow mammary gland. Butyrophilin, xanthine oxidase, and a group of small GTP-binding proteins that included ADP-ribosylation factor, were identified as constituents of the lipoprotein complex. This complex interacted with endoplasmic reticulum and with lipid droplets in cell-free incubation mixtures. In ultrastructure fatty acid synthase-containing lipoprotein particles were homogeneous in appearance, but were heterogeneous in size, with apparent diameters of 40 to 170 nm. Immunocytochemically, antigen recognized by antibodies to fatty acid synthase were found to be present in these particles and on endoplasmic reticulum. Lipoprotein complexes bound to specific polypeptides of endoplasmic reticulum.