Impairment of endoplasmic reticulum in liver as an early consequence of the systemic inflammatory response in rats.

Sylvia Nürnberger, Ingrid Miller, J Catharina Duvigneau, Edel T Kavanagh, Sanjeev Gupta, Romana T Hartl, Osamu Hori, Bernd Gesslbauer, Afshin Samali, Andreas Kungl, Heinz Redl, Andrey V Kozlov

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology, Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt Research Center, Vienna, Austria.

American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology 2012 Dec 15

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It is well known that systemic inflammatory response (SIR) often causes liver dysfunction. The aim of this study was to identify the intracellular compartment in the liver most susceptible to SIR. We analyzed morphology, ultrastructure, proteome, and expression of relevant genes in livers of rats subjected to endotoxic shock. Histological examination revealed that focal necrosis in liver was insignificant to explain liver dysfunction. Electron microscopy revealed no morphological changes in the mitochondrial structure and in the cytosol, but dilated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) cisterns were frequently observed. Apoptosis was found in white blood cells within liver tissue but not in hepatocytes. Mitochondrial, ER, and cytosolic fractions were subjected to proteome analysis by difference gel electrophoresis, and the protein spots with the highest degree of differential regulation were identified with mass spectrometry. The most pronounced proteome changes appeared in the ER, manifested as a remarkable downregulation of several proteins essential for ER functions, such as protein synthesis and transport, whereas the changes in mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions suggested a compensatory response. ER stress, as an underlying mechanism for ER impairment, was confirmed by analysis of upstream (splicing X-box-binding protein 1 mRNA) and downstream (e.g., 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein mRNA) markers, suggesting ongoing unresolved ER stress as a cause for ER dilation. Because ER is the intracellular compartment responsible for the major liver functions, our data suggest that inflammatory mediators induce unresolved ER stress, resulting in the biochemical, functional, and morphological impairment of ER that in turn causes liver dysfunction. The pathway activating ER stress in response to SIR is not known yet.

Citation

Sylvia Nürnberger, Ingrid Miller, J Catharina Duvigneau, Edel T Kavanagh, Sanjeev Gupta, Romana T Hartl, Osamu Hori, Bernd Gesslbauer, Afshin Samali, Andreas Kungl, Heinz Redl, Andrey V Kozlov. Impairment of endoplasmic reticulum in liver as an early consequence of the systemic inflammatory response in rats. American journal of physiology. Gastrointestinal and liver physiology. 2012 Dec 15;303(12):G1373-83