Does rat liver Golgi have the capacity to synthesize phospholipids for lipoprotein secretion?

Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in lipoproteins secreted from cultured rat hepatocytes are derived from specific biosynthetic pools (Vance, J. E., and Vance, D. E. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 4486-4491). We have tested the hypothesis that some of the phospholipids destined for secretion with lipoproteins may be made in the Golgi. Golgi fractions were prepared by three different procedures. Although each procedure yielded membranes highly enriched in galactosyltransferase, the protein profiles on polyacrylamide gels were distinct for each preparation. Similarly, the presence of phospholipid synthetic enzyme activities differed among the preparations of Golgi. Two of the preparations were judged to be contaminated by no more than 15% with endoplasmic reticulum. Although an unequivocal conclusion that Golgi contains phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes is not possible, the available evidence is consistent with this hypothesis. Golgi prepared by one method (Croze, E. M., and Morré, D. J. (1984) J. Cell. Physiol. 119, 46-57) was studied in detail. This preparation contained activities for CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase, CDP-choline:1,2-diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase, CDP-ethanolamine:1,2-diacylglycerol ethanolamine-phosphotransferase, phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase, and phosphatidylserine synthase. These enzyme activities in the Golgi displayed properties similar to the enzyme activities in endoplasmic reticulum with respect to Km values for substrates, pH optima, cofactor requirements, and inhibition by metabolites. Topology experiments suggested that these enzymes on endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi are all exposed to the cytosolic surface. Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase was not detected in the Golgi preparation. The results support the hypothesis that Golgi has the capacity to make certain phospholipids for lipoprotein secretion: phosphatidylcholine via the CDP-choline and methylation pathways, phosphatidylethanolamine by the CDP-ethanolamine pathway, and phosphatidylserine. Synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine via decarboxylation of phosphatidylserine does not appear to occur in Golgi.