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Rat liver sterol carrier protein (SCP) is a major intracellular protein regulating lipid metabolism and transport. During a dark-light cycle, SCP undergoes a dramatic diurnal variation in synthesis and level, reflecting translational events. Several hormones participate in the control of SCP synthesis. Insulin was implicated when the circadian rhythm of SCP was lost in both diabetes and fasting, states where insulin is low. After a 12-h fast the amplitude of the diurnal rhythm is diminished; after a 48-h fast it disappears, although SCP synthesis and level remain high. When endogenous insulin secretion is increased in fasted rats by glucose administration, SCP increases 2-fold in less than 30 min. When food intake is manipulated, but the dark-light cycle is unchanged, the circadian rhythm of SCP corresponds to feeding patterns and not light cycling. During feeding, increases in SCP are triggered following the expected increase in serum insulin. However, SCP is rapidly and significantly elevated in response to insulin only when glucocorticoids are normally high or increased by injection of the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone. Hepatocyte SCP levels are also induced by a combination of insulin and dexamethasone (2.3-fold) or insulin alone (1.3-fold). Dexamethasone alone causes a striking depression of SCP (2.4-fold). Thus, insulin is a major regulator of the diurnal variation of SCP synthesis. Glucocorticoids and other hormones (e.g. triiodothyronine) are also essential for maximum induction of SCP but play permissive roles.

Squalene and sterol carrier protein (SCP) levels and sterol/phospholipid molar ratios of whole cells and plasma membranes were measured in cultured primary tumor and metastatic cell lines. SCP is abundant in all cell lines. However, metastatic lines have significantly lower SCP levels and plasma membrane sterol/phospholipid ratios than do primary lines. The results indicate that extremely malignant, metastatic cells are unable to produce or maintain adequate levels of both SCP and plasma membrane sterols when grown in lipoprotein deficient media. This defect, in vivo, probably causes excess uptake of SCP and lipid.

Rat liver sterol carrier protein (SCP), a major regulator of lipid metabolism and transport, undergoes a rapid turnover and dramatic circadian variation in amount. The level of SCP was quantitated by a specific immunochemical assay using an antibody to homogeneous liver SCP. During a 12-h dark, 12-h light cycle, liver exhibits a biphasic pattern in SCP level. A 7-fold increase in SCP (i.e. from 1 to 7 mg/g of liver) occurs in the dark period, peaking at the midpoint and returning to basal levels by the beginning of the light period. A similar but smaller pattern of variation in SCP amount occurs in the light cycle. To elucidate the basic mechanism responsible for these changes in SCP level, the relative synthetic rate of SCP and mRNA functional activity for SCP were measured during the dark-light cycle. Alterations in the rate of SCP synthesis can account for the variations in SCP concentration. Although large changes occur in relative synthetic rate, no significant changes were found in the level of mRNA for SCP. Therefore, the circadian rhythm in SCP synthesis and amount does not reflect variations in the concentration of mRNA for SCP, but instead is caused by some mechanism controlling the efficiency of translation of SCP mRNA.

The fluorescent sterol analogue delta 5,7,9(11),22-ergostatetraen-3 beta-ol (dehydroergosterol) was synthesized and purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Dehydroergosterol in aqueous solution had a critical micelle concentration of 25 nM and a maximum solubility of 1.3 microM as ascertained from fluorescence polarization and light scattering properties, respectively. Several lines of evidence indicated a close molecular interaction of dehydroergosterol with purified rat liver squalene and sterol carrier protein (SCP). SCP increased the maximal solubility of dehydroergosterol in aqueous buffer. The fluorescence emission spectrum of dehydroergosterol was blue shifted upon addition of SCP. The fluorescence lifetime of dehydroergosterol in aqueous buffer was 2.3 ns; addition of SCP resulted in the appearance of a second lifetime component near 12.4 ns. The SCP increased the fluorescence polarization of monomeric dehydroergosterol in aqueous buffer from 0.033 to 0.086. Scatchard analysis of the binding data indicated that dehydroergosterol interacted with purified rat liver SCP with an apparent KD = 0.88 microM and Bmax = 4.8 microM. At maximal binding, 1.0 mol of dehydroergosterol was specifically bound per mole of SCP. The close molecular interaction of dehydroergosterol with SCP was also demonstrated by energy-transfer experiments. The intermolecular distance between SCP and bound dehydroergosterol was evaluated by fluorescence energy transfer from tyrosine residues of SCP to the conjugated triene series of double bonds in dehydroergosterol. The transfer efficiency was 36%, and R, the apparent distance between the tyrosine energy donor and the dehydroergosterol energy acceptor, was 19 A. The significance of these data obtained in vitro for dehydroergosterol interaction with SCP was also tested in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

This report summarizes our recent studies on the protein known as sterol carrier protein (SCP) or fatty acid binding protein (FABP). SCP is a highly abundant, ubiquitous protein with multifunctional roles in the regulation of lipid metabolism and transport. SCP in vitro activates membrane-bound enzymes catalyzing cholesterol synthesis and metabolism, as well as those catalyzing long chain fatty acid metabolism. SCP also binds cholesterol and fatty acids with high affinity and rapidly penetrates cholesterol containing model membranes. Studies in vivo showed SCP undergoes a remarkable diurnal cycle in level and synthesis, induced by hormones and regulated in liver by translational events. SCP rapidly responds in vivo to physiological events and manipulations affecting lipid metabolism by changes in level. Thus SCP appears to be an important regulator of lipid metabolism. Preliminary evidence is presented that SCP is secreted by liver and intestine into blood and then taken up by tissues requiring SCP but incapable of adequate SCP synthesis.

The striking changes in amount of rat liver SCP (sterol carrier protein) during a 24-h dark-light cycle are due to alterations in the relative synthetic rate of SCP. However, functional SCP mRNA, measured by a cell-free translational assay, does not fluctuate in the dark-light cycle. Since cell-free translational assays do not always reflect the actual abundance of an mRNA molecule, a specific cDNA hybridization assay was used to directly quantitate SCP mRNA sequences. The cDNA probe was selected from a rat liver library by hybridization to a mixture of synthetic oligonucleotides containing a portion of the sequence of SCP mRNA. The relative amount and size distribution of the SCP mRNA species (approximately 700-800 nucleotides) does not change during the diurnal cycle. To explore possible mechanisms of this translational control, the polysomal distribution of SCP mRNA was compared at the maximum and minimum points of SCP synthesis. No significant amounts of SCP mRNA were present in nonpolysomal ribonucleoprotein particles. Furthermore, no alteration in the relative level of SCP mRNA associated with polysomes or in polysome size occurs at the maximum and minimum points of SCP synthesis. Thus, changes in total SCP mRNA levels or its polysomal distribution cannot account for the diurnal variation in SCP synthesis.