Subcellular distributions of lipids in cultured BHK cells: evidence for the enrichment of lysobisphosphatidic acid and neutral lipids in lysosomes

Abstract

Homogenates of cultured hamster fibroblasts (BHK 21 cells) were fractionated by differential centrifugation into six main fractions: nuclear, mitochondrial, light mitochondrial, microsomal, soluble, and floating. The contents of several lipids and some marker enzymes were measured. According to the enzyme distributions, lysosomes were enriched both in the floating fraction and in the light mitochondrial fraction. Lysobisphosphatidic acid was enriched in the floating fraction more than tenfold relative to phospholipid. Cholesteryl esters and triglycerides were the main constituents of the fraction (70% of total lipids). Lysobisphosphatidic acid, triglycerides, and cholesteryl esters were enriched also in the light mitochondrial fraction. Their distribution patterns were different from those of the other lipids. Electron microscopy showed that the floating fraction contained numerous lipofuscin-like particles with darkly stained peripheries and with core regions staining like droplets of neutral lipids. Similar particles, frequently containing prominent multilamellar formations, were also common in intact cells. They contained cytochemically identified acid phosphatase. We conclude that lysobisphosphatidic acid was enriched in the lysosomes of the BHK cells and that the lysosomes also contained variable amounts of neutral lipids in the form of intralysosomal droplets.

Keywords

• differential centrifugation
• marker enzymes
• triglycerides
• cholesteryl esters
• lipid morphology