Altered intracellular processing and enhanced secretion of procathepsin D in a highly deviated rat hepatoma.

Both freshly-isolated rat hepatocytes and Morris hepatoma 7777 cells synthesized cathepsin D as a precursor that was either processed intracellular to smaller mature forms or secreted into the medium. The pattern of mature enzyme forms was different in the 2 cell types. In addition, the relative amount of precursor secreted was much higher for hepatoma cells. Monensin strongly enhanced the secretion and also impaired the intracellular transport-linked maturation of procathepsin D in hepatocytes, while it markedly inhibited intracellular maturation and only slightly increased secretion of the pro-enzyme in hepatoma cells. Ammonium chloride influenced the intralysosomal segregation and maturation of procathepsin D in hepatocytes but not in hepatoma cells. Our observations indicate that (i) the lysosomal segregation of cathepsin D was less efficient and its fractional secretion higher in hepatoma cells than in hepatocytes; (ii) in the 2 cell types, delivery to lysosomes and processing of procathepsin D were differently sensitive to increases in the vacuolar pH.