Regulation of protein turnover versus growth state. Studies on the mechanism(s) of initiation of acidic vacuolar proteolysis in cells of stationary ascites hepatoma

1. After transplantation, the rat AH-130 Yoshida ascites hepatoma enters a phase of exponential (log) growth, followed by a quasi-stationary (sta) state. Combining measurements made in vivo and in vitro, cessation of protein accumulation (growth) in sta phase has previously been shown to result from convergent reduction of protein synthesis and enhancement of protein breakdown [Tessitore, Bonelli, Cecchini, Amenta & Baccino (1987) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 255, 372-384]. 2. One day after labelling in the animal with [3H]leucine, AH-130 cells were processed for short-term assays in vitro to measure rates of endogenous protein breakdown. 3. Exposure of AH-130 cells to inhibitors interfering with different steps of the acidic vacuolar pathway (AVP) showed that: (i) in log tumour cells the AVP was extensively suppressed; (ii) in sta tumour cells virtually all of the proteolytic acceleration was accounted for by activation of the AVP. 4. Treating log tumour cells with glucagon, cyclic AMP, or nutritional deprivation failed to elevate substantially the proteolytic rates. Nor could the elevation in proteolysis be explained by changes in free amino acids, which were more concentrated in the ascitic fluid of sta tumours. 5. The enhanced proteolysis in sta tumour cells was not associated with any increase in the intracellular activity levels of lysosomal cathepsins B, D, H, and L. 6. The above growth-related modulation of protein breakdown in AH-130 cells was probably a reflection of the tumour growth state rather than the direct effect of environmental stimuli.