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The expression of acute-phase protein genes is controlled by many factors, such as IL-1, IL-6, glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone (T3), and retinoic acids. We studied the interaction of T3, glucocorticoids, all-trans retinoic acid (RA), and 9-cis retinoic acid (9cRA) on the expression of the rat alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) gene in vitro. Dexamethasone (Dex) activated AGP gene expression in a rat liver derived cell line, RLN-10. Although T3, RA, and 9cRA by themselves had no effect on AGP production, they reduced the response to Dex of the AGP gene.

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a major acute phase protein in rat and human. AGP has important immunomodulatory functions that are potentially important for pulmonary inflammatory response. The liver is the main tissue for AGP synthesis in the organism, but the expression of AGP in the rat lung has not been investigated. We show that AGP mRNA was induced in the lung of dexamethasone-, turpentine-, or LPS-treated rats, whereas AGP mRNA was not detected in the lung of control rats. In the lung of animals treated intratracheally with LPS, in situ hybridization showed that AGP gene expression was restricted to cells located in the corners of the alveolus, consistent with an alveolar type II (ATII) cell localization. The inducible expression of the AGP gene was confirmed in vitro with SV40 T2 cells and rat ATII cells in primary culture: maximal expression required the presence of dexamethasone. IL-1 and the conditioned medium of alveolar macrophages acted synergistically with dexamethasone. Rat ATII cells secreted immunoreactive AGP in vitro when stimulated with dexamethasone or with a combination of dexamethasone and the conditioned medium of alveolar macrophages. In vivo, in the human lung, we detected immunoreactive AGP in hyperplastic ATII cells, whereas we did not detect AGP in the normal lung. We conclude that AGP is expressed in the lung in cases of inflammation and that ATII cells are the main source of AGP in the lung.

While the effects of insulin, dexamethasone and cytokines on alpha 1-acid glycoprotein gene expression have been investigated in various hepatoma cell lines, the individual and combined effects of these components on the expression of this gene have been rarely studied in cultured normal rat hepatocytes. In this cell model, we have shown that mRNA levels of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein were not decreased at least during the first 24 h of culture under basal conditions. During these short-term cultures, the expression of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in normal hepatocytes showed a high degree of responsiveness to dexamethasone alone (20-fold increase) and to dexamethasone associated with various cytokines (interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha) with a 40 to 100-fold increase depending on the cytokine. Insulin alone did not modify alpha 1-acid glycoprotein mRNA; however, this hormone exerted a positive effect (about 50% increase) in the presence of dexamethasone or dexamethasone with cytokines. These results indicate that the regulation of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in cultured normal rat hepatocytes presents major differences when compared to reported observations in rat hepatoma cell lines.

The induction of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) mRNA by glucocorticoids in rat hepatoma cells requires ongoing protein synthesis. Here we show that the 5'-flanking region of the AGP gene confers glucocorticoid responsiveness on the expression of heterologous coding sequences. Moreover, the induction of beta-globin mRNA directed by the AGP promoter is inhibited by concurrent treatment with cycloheximide, thereby suggesting that the requirement for protein synthesis is mediated through 5'-flanking sequences. Analysis of the effects of varying durations of cycloheximide treatment indicates that both the endogenous AGP gene and the transfected AGP-beta-globin chimeric gene are induced normally by dexamethasone during the first 1-2h of concurrent treatment. In addition, pretreatment with cycloheximide yields a decrease in the subsequent induction of both beta-globin and AGP RNAs. These data support the notion that a pre-existing and labile protein, perhaps in concert with the glucocorticoid receptor, acts through the 5'-flanking region of the AGP gene to stimulate transcription from the AGP promoter.

The relationship of protein glycosylation to the externalization of glucocorticoid inducible alpha1-acid glycoprotein and mouse mammary tumor virus glycoproteins was examined in M1.54, a clonal population of mouse mammary tumor virus-infected rat hepatoma cells. Multiple freeze-thaw of isolated microsomes revealed that while alpha 1-acid glycoprotein is carried through the cell as a soluble component of vesicles, extracellular viral glycoproteins are initially membrane-associated. At concentrations of tunicamycin that specifically inhibited N-linked protein glycosylation, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein fractionated between the cellular and extracellular compartments. Thus, approximately one half of the newly synthesized, nonglycosylated (22,000 Mr) alpha 1-acid glycoprotein was rapidly secreted with kinetics similar to its glycosylated counterpart (release half-time of 60 min), while the remaining species first localized in an undefined intracellular compartment prior to its slow secretion (release half-time of 24 h). The same distribution of nonglycosylated alpha 1-acid glycoprotein was observed at various absolute levels of polypeptide, suggesting that this was not due simply to the saturation of an efficient secretory pathway at high polypeptide levels. In contrast to alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, no labeled viral antigens were released by tunicamycin-treated M1.54, while a nonglycosylated viral precursor glycopolyprotein was expressed intracellularly. Taken together, these results suggest that carbohydrate attachment strongly regulates the externalization of both alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and mouse mammary tumor virus species, which represent two distinct classes of extracellular glycoproteins.

The effect of dexamethasone on the synthesis of acute phase proteins has been studied in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. In the absence of dexamethasone no detectable amounts of alpha 2-macroglobulin were synthesized by hepatocytes cultured for 1 day. alpha 2-Macroglobulin synthesis was induced by dexamethasone concentrations of 10(-8) M or higher with a maximum at a concentration of 10(-7) M. alpha 1-Acid glycoprotein was synthesized in the absence of dexamethasone; however, its synthesis was also greatly stimulated by dexamethasone concentrations of 10(-8)-10(-6) M. Synthesis of alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor was stimulated only 1.4-fold at a dexamethasone concentration of 10(-7) M. The kinetics of induction of alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein were studied at a dexamethasone concentration of 10(-7) M. After an initial lag phase of 3 h the synthesis of both proteins showed a steady increase during 2 days. Synthesis of albumin remained unchanged under these experimental conditions. Unlike alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein tyrosine aminotransferase activity increased already during the first 3 h of induction by dexamethasone with a maximum at 12 h followed by a slight decrease.

The isolated rat liver perfused for 12 hours at pH 7.10 with a suspension of bovine erythrocytes in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer containing 3 per cent bovine serum albumin has been used as a test system to study effects of glucagon and of dexamethasone in the presence and absence of insulin on net biosynthesis of rat serum albumin, fibrinogen, alpah1-acid glycoprotein, alpha2-(acute phase) globulin, and haptoglobin. Quantitative measurement of perfusate glucose, amino acid nitrogen, and urea affords a basis for determining net glucose and nitrogen balance in the perfusion system. Although the dose of dexamethasone (total 1.0 mug.) used was insufficient to induce synthesis of alpha2-acute phase globulin, net syntheses of albumin, fibrogen, alpha1-acid glycoprotein, and haptoglobin were increased. Glucagon given with dexamethasone depressed albumin and haptoglobin synthesis markedly, but not that of fibrinogen and alpha1-acid glycoprotein. Glucagon with dexamethasone markedly enhanced ureogenesis and glycogenolysis and elicited an exaggerated negative nitrogen balance. The unfavorable effects of glucagon on albumin and haptoglobin synthesis and on nitrogen balance were reversed by giving insulin simultaneously. It is emphasized that insulin is essential for positive nitrogen balance.

We have studied the glucocorticoid-mediated accumulation of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in mRNA in HTC rat hepatoma cells. In contrast to the well-characterized primary response of mouse mammary tumor virus, in vitro transcription assays in isolated nuclei show that the rate of transcription of the AGP gene is high even in the absence of hormone. Despite the constitutive transcription of the AGP gene, no detectable AGP RNA can be found in either the cytoplasm or the nuclei of untreated cells. Previous experiments have shown that the glucocorticoid induction of AGP RNA requires ongoing protein synthesis. In conjunction with the present study, our data suggest that glucocorticoids stimulate accumulation of AGP RNA by inducing an RNA processing factor that allows production of stable transcripts.

alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1-AGP), or orosomucoid, is shown to be inducible by glucocorticoids in HTC rat hepatoma cells. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine pulse-labeled proteins from these cells reveals secreted proteins of Mr = 35,000-48,000 (alpha 1-AGP) and Mr greater than 180,000, both of which are greatly enhanced by glucocorticoid treatment. The amount of alpha 1-AGP-specific mRNA in HTC cells is greatly increased (at least 100-fold) in response to glucocorticoids. The new steady-state level of RNA is approached with a t 1/2 of about 8 hr and the RNA consists of a single species of approximately 850 bases. The response is specific for glucocorticoids since: (i) the EC50 for dexamethasone is 30 nM; (ii) the glucocorticoid antagonist, progesterone, inhibits the induction by dexamethasone; and (iii) a glucocorticoid receptor-deficient cell line is incapable of alpha 1-AGP mRNA induction. This is a secondary hormonal response since inhibition of protein synthesis blocks the induction of alpha 1-AGP mRNA by dexamethasone whereas the induction of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) RNA is unaffected.