Whereas ligation of the CD95 death receptor in the plasma membrane of so-called type I cells leads to a direct caspase 8-dependent activation of downstream effector caspases, mitochondrial amplification of caspase 8-derived signals is required in so-called type II cells in order to execute apoptotic cell death. In type I cells CD95L (CD95 ligand) binding to CD95 results in a ceramide-dependent formation of the DISC (death-inducing signalling complex) and caspase 8-dependent CD95 clustering in the plasma membrane, followed by an internalization of these multimeric-receptor–DISC complexes. In contrast, in the hepatocyte, a type II cell, the bulk of CD95 is stored intracellularly under resting conditions and only a few ‘sentinel’ CD95 receptors are present in the plasma membrane. However, their activation by CD95L is sufficient to trigger a caspase 8-dependent endosomal acidification and a ceramide-dependent trafficking of intracellularly stored CD95 to the plasma membrane, thereby amplifying CD95 activation. Thus, in both type I and type II cells, ceramide and CD95 receptor endo- and exo-cytosis are involved in CD95-mediated apoptosis, but apparently in different ways. This, however, is not the only effect of CD95 ligation on intracellular membrane flow in type II cells, and evidence has been presented that soon after CD95 ligation Golgi elements intermix caspase-dependently with mitochondria. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal , Matarrese et al. report another aspect on endocytosis in response to CD95 ligation in type II cells, namely a caspase-independent endocytosis with vesicle translocation to the mitochondrial compartment, suggestive of an interplay between both organelles in the sense of an ‘organelle scrambling’. Thus early effects of CD95 activation on intracellular membrane flow may be much more complex than previously thought, but much has still to be learned about signalling mechanisms and the role they play in apoptosis.

In mammalian liver, proteolysis is regulated by the cellular hydration state in a microtubule- and p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase)-dependent fashion. Osmosensing in liver cells towards proteolysis is achieved by activation of integrin receptors. The yeast orthologue of p38 MAPK is Hog1 (high-osmolarity glycerol 1), which is involved in the hyperosmotic-response pathway. Since it is not known whether starvation-induced autophagy in yeast is osmosensitive and whether Hog1 is involved in this process, we performed fluorescence microscopy experiments. The hog 1Δ cells exhibited a visible decrease of autophagy in hypo-osmotic and hyperosmotic nitrogen-starvation medium as compared with normo-osmolarity, as determined by GFP (green fluorescent protein)–Atg8 (autophagy-related 8) fluorescence. Western blot analysis of GFP–Atg8 degradation showed that WT (wild-type) cells maintained a stable autophagic activity over a broad osmolarity range, whereas hog 1Δ cells showed an impaired autophagic actitivity during hypo- and hyper-osmotic stress. In [ 3 H]leucine-pre-labelled yeast cells, the proteolysis rate was osmodependent only in hog 1Δ cells. Neither maturation of pro-aminopeptidase I nor vitality was affected by osmotic stress in either yeast strain. In contrast, rapamycin-dependent autophagy, as measured by degradation of GFP–Atg8, did not significantly respond to hypo-osmotic or hyperosmotic stress in hog 1Δ or WT cells. We conclude that Hog1 plays a role in the stabilization machinery of nitrogen-deprivation-induced autophagy in yeast cells during ambient osmolarity changes. This could be an analogy to the p38 MAPK pathway in mammalian liver, where osmosensing towards p38 MAPK is required for autophagy regulation by hypo-osmotic or amino-acid-induced cell swelling. A phenotypic difference is observed in rapamycin-induced autophagy, which does not seem to respond to extracellular osmolarity changes in hog 1Δ cells.

Cytokine-induced expression of SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signalling) molecules is important for the negative regulatory control of STAT (signal transduction and activators of transcription)-dependent cytokine signalling, e.g. for the signal transduction of IL-6 (interleukin-6)-type cytokines through the JAK (Janus kinase)/STAT cascade. STAT activation itself represents an important step in the transcriptional activation of SOCS3 gene expression. However, downstream of the STAT-responsive element, the SOCS3 gene contains a GC-rich element in its 5′-upstream region. The aim of the present study was to investigate the implications of this GC-rich element in the transcriptional control of SOCS3 gene expression. In the present study, we show that mutation of this GC-rich element abolishes IL-6-dependent transcriptional activation of the SOCS3 promoter and that Sp3 (specificity protein 3), a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor, but not Sp1 binds to this GC-rich motif, suggesting that Sp3 is involved in the regulation of SOCS3 expression. The results suggest that Sp3 is important for IL-6-induced transcriptional activation of the SOCS3 (gene) promoter and acts as an enhancer of basal as well as induced transcriptional activity, resulting in enhanced SOCS3 mRNA and protein expression. Mutation of Lys-483, a potential target for Sp3 acetylation, inhibited Sp3-mediated enhancement of SOCS3 mRNA expression and SOCS3 promoter activation, indicating that the acetylation of this lysine residue of Sp3 is important for the enhancing effect of Sp3 on SOCS3 expression.

A contribution of intracellular dehydration to insulin resistance has been established in human subjects and in different experimental systems. Here the effect of hyperosmolarity (405mosmol/l) on insulin-induced mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatase (MKP)-1 expression was studied in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. Insulin induces robust MKP-1 expression which correlates with a vanadate-sensitive decay of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (Erk-1/Erk-2) activity. Hyperosmolarity delays MKP-1 accumulation by insulin and this corresponds to impaired MKP-1 synthesis, whereas MKP-1 degradation remains unaffected by hyperosmolarity. Rapamycin, which inhibits signalling downstream from the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and a peptide inhibiting protein kinase C (PKC) ζ/λ abolish insulin-induced MKP-1 protein but not mRNA expression, suggesting the involvement of the p70 ribosomal S6 protein kinase (p70S6-kinase) and/or the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding proteins (4E-BPs) as well as atypical PKCs in MKP-1 translation. Hyperosmolarity induces sustained suppression of p70S6-kinase and 4E-BP1 hyperphosphorylation by insulin, whereas insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor (IR) β subunit and the IR substrates IRS1 and IRS2, recruitment of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) regulatory subunit p85 to the receptor substrates as well as PI 3-kinase activation, and Ser-473 phosphorylation of protein kinase B and Thr-410/403 phosphorylation of PKC ζ/λ are largely unaffected under hyperosmotic conditions. The hyperosmotic impairment of both, MKP-1 expression and p70S6-kinase hyperphosphorylation by insulin is insensitive to K 2 CrO 4 , calyculin A and vanadate, and inhibition of the Erk-1/Erk-2 and p38 pathways. The suppression of MKP-1 may further contribute to insulin resistance under dehydrating conditions by allowing unbalanced MAP kinase activation.

Intact actin microfilaments are required for insulin-regulated glucose transporter isoform 4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane. Lipoxygenase (LO) metabolites have recently been shown to contribute to the regulation of actin cytoskeleton rearrangement. In the present investigation, ventricular cardiomyocytes were used to study the effects of two structurally different LO inhibitors (esculetin and nordihydroguaiaretic acid) on insulin signalling events, glucose uptake, GLUT4 translocation and the actin network organization. Insulin stimulation increased glucose uptake 3-fold in control cells, whereas LO inhibition completely blocked this effect. This was paralleled by a slight reduction in the insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2. However, inhibition of 12-LO did not affect the association of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase with IRS-1 and the phosphorylation of Akt/protein kinase B in response to insulin. Addition of 12(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid almost completely restored the insulin action in cells exposed to nordihydroguaiaretic acid. Insulin stimulation increased cell surface GLUT4 2-fold in control cells, whereas LO inhibition abrogated the insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. LO inhibition induced a prominent disassembly of actin fibres compared with control cells. In conclusion, we show here that 12(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid plays a role in the organization of the actin network in cardiomyocytes. LO inhibition blocks GLUT4 translocation without affecting downstream insulin signalling. These data suggest that LO metabolites participate in the regulation of glucose transport by contributing to a rearrangement of actin cytoskeletal elements.

Autophagic proteolysis in rat liver is under the control of the cellular hydration state. Because the morphological site of swelling-dependent proteolysis regulation has not yet been identified, the formation of autophagosomes was investigated with transmission electron microscopy in slices from perfused livers. In livers from fed rats, hypo-osmotic exposure (185mosmol/l) led within 30min to a decrease in fractional cytoplasmic autophagosome volume that was sensitive to colchicine and p38 MAPK inhibition. Similarly, the decrease in autophagosome volume, but not the increase in cell volume caused by insulin or glutamine/glycine, was strongly inhibited by colchicine and SB 203580, an inhibition of p38 MAPK activation. Immune complex assays from perfused liver showed that hypo-osmotic activation of p38 MAPK was not inhibited by colchicine. Further, experiments using confocal laser microscopy in cultivated hepatocytes incubated with mouse-derived anti-(α-tubulin) showed that microtubular structures were not influenced by the inhibition of p38 MAPK by SB 203580. It is concluded that the sequestration of autophagic vacuoles is a major site of proteolysis regulation by cell hydration. Swelling-induced activation of p38 MAPK is required for this process and occurs upstream of the putative microtubule regulation site.

Ursodesoxycholic acid, widely used for the treatment of cholestatic liver disease, causes choleretic, anti-apoptotic and immunomodulatory effects. Here the effects on choleresis of its taurine conjugate tauroursodesoxycholate (TUDC), which is present in the enterohepatic circulation, were correlated with the activation of important elements of intracellular signal transduction in cultured rat hepatocytes and perfused rat liver. TUDC induced a time- and concentration-dependent activation of the small GTP-binding protein Ras and of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) in cultured hepatocytes. Ras activation was dependent on PI3-kinase activity, without the involvement of protein kinase C- and genistein-sensitive tyrosine kinases. Ras activation by TUDC was followed by an activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases extracellular-signal-regulated kinase-1 (Erk-1) and Erk-2. In perfused rat liver, PI3-kinase inhibitors largely abolished the stimulatory effect of TUDC on taurocholate excretion, suggesting an important role for a PI3-kinase/Ras/Erk pathway in the choleretic effect of TUDC.

Immunohistochemical studies suggest that canalicular secretion via multidrug resistance protein 2 (Mrp2), a conjugate export pump encoded by the Mrp2 gene, is regulated by rapid transporter retrieval from/insertion into the canalicular membrane. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate this suggestion by means of immunogold electron microscopy. Therefore the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and osmolarity on Mrp2 localization were studied following immunogold labelling in the perfused rat liver by quantitative electron microscopy and morphometric analyses, and by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Mrp2 activity was assessed in the isolated perfused rat liver by measuring the excretion of dinitrophenyl-S-glutathione as a substrate of Mrp2. Both LPS and hyperosmolarity resulted in a statistically significant decrease in immunogold-labelled Mrp2 in the canalicular membrane and canalicular villi, and an increase in labelling in the pericanalicular cytoplasm. Canalicular morphometric parameters were unchanged under these conditions compared with controls. Under hyperosmolar perfusion Mrp2, but not the canalicular protein dipeptidylpeptidase IV, was found inside the cells, as shown by double immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The findings suggest a selective retrieval of Mrp2 from the canalicular membrane under the influence of hyperosmolarity and LPS, whereas canalicular morphology remains unchanged.

Expression of the conjugate export pump multidrug-resistance protein 2 (MRP2) in liver is regulated by endotoxin and anti-tumour agents. This paper reports on the effects of dexamethasone and osmolarity on MRP2 expression. MRP2 expression was studied at the protein, mRNA, immunocytochemical and functional levels in cultured rat hepatocytes. Protein and mRNA expression of MRP2 in rat hepatocytes 24 and 48 h after isolation were largely dependent on the presence of dexamethasone (100 nmol/l) in the culture medium. MRP2 was localized at the pseudocanalicular membrane and increased expression of MRP2 was accompanied by a widening of the pseudocanaliculi. In presence of dexamethasone, hypo-osmolarity (205 mosmol/l) led to a strong induction of MRP2 mRNA and protein, whereas expression was decreased by hyperosmolarity (405 mosmol/l). Also, a decay of MRP2 protein and mRNA following dexamethasone withdrawal was osmosensitive. Expression of dipeptidylpeptidase IV, another canalicular protein, was unaffected by dexamethasone and osmolarity. It is concluded that glucocorticoids are strong inducers of MRP2 in liver. Besides short-term carrier insertion/retrieval, osmoregulation of MRP2 also involves a long-term effect on MRP2 expression.

The expression of glutamine synthetase (GS) was studied in cultured quiescent hepatic stellate cells (HSC) and during their transformation into myofibroblast-like cells. GS mRNA was detectable in quiescent HSC (1-day culture); however, the enzyme protein was not expressed, as assessed by Western blot analysis, immunocytochemistry and the absence of detectable enzyme activity. Similar findings were obtained after 2 days of culture; in addition, the mRNA levels had dropped by about 70%, but they increased again thereafter during the process of HSC transformation in culture, as indicated by the expression of α-smooth-muscle actin. In parallel with the accumulation of α-smooth-muscle actin, GS was expressed, as shown by Western blot analysis and immunocytochemistry, and enzyme activity increased from undetectable levels in quiescent cells to 0.13±0.01 µ mol/h per mg of cell protein within 7–14 days. This value compares with GS activity in liver parenchymal cells of 0.57±0.03 µ mol/h per mg of cell protein. The findings suggest that activation of HSC results in the de novo expression of GS protein and activity, and this may serve as another marker of HSC transformation.

The role of myo -inositol as an osmolyte was studied in cultured rat liver macrophages (Kupffer cells). Hyperosmotic exposure of Kupffer cells stimulated myo -inositol uptake and led to an increase in the mRNA levels for the sodium/ myo -inositol co-transporter (SMIT). Conversely, hypo-osmotic (205 m-osM) exposure diminished myo -inositol uptake when compared with normo-osmotic (305 m-osM) control incubations. The hyperosmolarity-induced SMIT mRNA increase was counteracted by added myo -inositol or betaine. In contrast with Kupffer cells, there was only a slight hyperosmotic stimulation of myo -inositol uptake in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages, and the myo -inositol transporter (SMIT) mRNA was not detectable. Further, a slight stimulation of taurine uptake and an increase in taurine transporter (TAUT) mRNA level by hyperosmolarity was observed in RAW 264.7 cells, whereas hypo-osmolarity led to a decrease in taurine uptake and TAUT mRNA level. When Kupffer cells were preloaded with myo -inositol, hypo-osmotic exposure led to a rapid efflux of myo -inositol from the cells. Myo -inositol efflux was also stimulated by phagocytosis of latex particles; however, latex was without effect on the hyperosmolarity-induced increase of SMIT mRNA levels. The results suggest a role of myo -inositol as an osmolyte in rat Kupffer cells but not in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages. The functional relevance of this osmolyte strategy might lie in the maintenance of cell volume homeostasis during phagocytosis in Kupffer cells; however, the interplay with the other osmolytes betaine and taurine remains to be established.

The effects of aniso-osmotic exposure on taurine transport were studied in H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. Hyperosmotic (405 mosmol/l) exposure of H4IIE cells stimulated Na + -dependent taurine uptake and led to an increase in taurine transporter (TAUT) mRNA levels, whereas hypo-osmotic (205 mosmol/l) exposure diminished both taurine uptake and TAUT mRNA levels when compared with normo-osmotic (305 mosmol/l) control incubations. Taurine uptake increased 30Ő40-fold upon raising the ambient osmolarity from 205 to 405 mosmol/l. When H4IIE cells and perfused livers were preloaded with taurine, hypo-osmotic cell swelling led to a rapid release of taurine from the cells. The taurine efflux, but not taurine uptake, was sensitive to 4,4ƀ-di-isothiocyanatostilbene-2,2ƀ-disulphonic acid (DIDS), suggestive of an involvement of DIDS-sensitive channels in mediating volume-regulatory taurine efflux. Whereas in both H4IIE rat hepatoma cells and primary hepatocytes TAUT mRNA levels were strongly dependent upon ambient osmolarity, mRNAs for other osmolyte transporters, i.e. the betaine transporter BGT-1 and the Na + / myo -inositol transporter SMIT, were not detectable. In line with this, myo -inositol uptake by H4IIE hepatoma cells was low and was not stimulated by hyperosmolarity. However, despite the absence of BGT-1 mRNA, a slight osmosensitive uptake of betaine was observed, but the rate was less than 10% of that of taurine transport. This study identifies a constitutively expressed and osmosensitive TAUT in H4IIE cells and the use of taurine as a main osmolyte, whereas betaine and myo -inositol play little or no role in the osmolyte strategy in these cells. This is in contrast with rat liver macrophages, in which betaine has been shown to be a major osmolyte.

The influence of hypo-osmotic cell swelling on the activity of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases Erk-1 and Erk-2 (where Erk stands for extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase) was studied in cultured rat astrocytes. Hypo-osmotic treatment led within 10 min to an increased activity of Erk-1 and Erk-2, which became maximal at 20 min and returned to the basal level within 60 min. Moreover, exposure to hypo-osmotic conditions induced a biphasic increase in cytosolic Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ): a rapid peak-like increase was followed by a sustained plateau. The absence of extracellular Ca 2+ completely abolished Erk activation as well as the plateau of the [Ca 2+ ] i response after hypo-osmotic stimulation. Application of wortmannin and agents to elevate intracellular cAMP levels also completely blocked Erk activation but were without effect on the biphasic [Ca 2+ ] i response to hypo-osmotic treatment of the cells, suggesting a role of PtdIns 3-kinase and the Ras/Raf pathway downstream of the calcium signal. Protein kinase C (PKC) and Ca 2+ /calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinases are unlikely to play a role in the hypo-osmolarity-induced signalling towards MAP kinases, as revealed by the blockage of PKC and CaM kinases. Inhibition of tyrosine kinases, pertussis-toxin- or cholera-toxin-sensitive G-proteins and phospholipase C had no effect on the [Ca 2+ ] i response; the Erk response to hypo-osmolarity was also largely unaltered. This is different from the swelling-induced MAP kinase activation in hepatocytes, which was shown to occur via a calcium-independent but G-protein- and tyrosine kinase-dependent mechanism. Thus osmo-signalling towards MAP kinases might exhibit cell-type-specific features.

Short-term-cultivated rat hepatocytes and Kupffer cells were allowed to endocytose fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-coupled dextran, in order to study the effects of aniso-osmotic exposure and NH 4 Cl on apparent vesicular pH (pH ves ) by single-cell fluorescence. Following a 2 h loading period with FITC–dextran in normo-osmotic (305 mosmol/l) medium, the apparent pH ves was 6.01±0.05 ( n = 39) in parenchymal cells and 4.94±0.04 ( n = 76) in Kupffer cells. Under these conditions pH ves in parenchymal cells, but not in Kupffer cells, was sensitive to changes in ambient osmolarity. Inhibition of vacuolar H + -ATPase by concanamycin A did not affect the osmosensitivity of pH ves in parenchymal cells. However, the effects of anisotonicity on pH ves were largely abolished in the presence of 4,4´-di-isothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2´-disulphonic acid (DIDS) or when extracellular chloride was substituted for gluconate. In neither Kupffer cells, nor liver parenchymal cells did hypo-osmotic cell swelling cause an increase in intracellular Ca 2+ . With regard to vesicular acidification, the following differences were noted between parenchymal and Kupffer cells. (1) In Kupffer cells endocytosed FITC–dextran reached a strongly acidic compartment with a pH value of approx. 5 within 5 min, whereas it took 4–5 h in parenchymal cells. Modification of pH ves by hypo-osmolarity in Kupffer cells was only observed in a short-lived ‘early’ compartment with a pH value of approx. 6. (2) In contrast to pH ves in parenchymal cells, pH ves in Kupffer cells was very sensitive towards alkalinization by NH 4 Cl: addition of NH 4 Cl at 1 or 10 mM increased apparent pH ves by 0.80 or 1.46 in Kupffer cells, but only by 0.18 or 0.56 in parenchymal cells. The low ammonia sensitivity of pH ves in parenchymal cells was observed not only in the less acidic (pH approx. 6) endocytotic compartment which is reached by FITC–dextran within 2 h, but also in the stronger acidic compartment (pH approx. 5) which is reached after 4–5 h. (3) NH 4 Cl had no effect on the osmosensitivity of pH ves in parenchymal cells, whereas in Kupffer cells pH ves became sensitive to anisotonicity when NH 4 Cl was present. Osmosensitivity of pH ves in Kupffer cells under these conditions, however, was not affected by genistein, DIDS or colchicine, whereas these compounds abolished the osmosensitivity of pH ves in parenchymal cells. It is suggested that regulation of pH ves by cell volume in liver parenchymal cells involves changes of vesicular chloride conductance. In addition, there are marked differences between Kupffer and parenchymal cells with respect to vesicular ammonia permeability and the kinetics of endocytotic membrane flow and acidification.