Estrogen induces cytokeratin aggregation in primary cultures of Armenian hamster hepatocytes

✍ Scribed by Satoh, Mutsumi I. ;Hayes, Stanley F. ;Coe, John E.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 298 KB
• Volume: 43
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0886-1544
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0169(1999)43:1<35::aid-cm4>3.0.co;2-e

✦ Synopsis

The effect of estrogen administration to cultured Armenian hamster was studied. Isolated Armenian hamster hepatocytes were cultured in RPMI medium supplemented with ␤-estradiol (E 2 ). ␤-estradiol treatment for 24-48 hr induced cytoplasmic inclusion bodies which by immunocytochemistry were positive for cytokeratin (CK) 8, CK 18, and ubiquitin but negative for CK 7 and CK 19. These inclusion bodies appeared as filamentous tangles or amorphous aggregates when observed by electron microscopy. F-actin, tubulin, and desmosomes were not influenced by the presence of the inclusion bodies. Addition of ethanol to culture medium increased the incidence of the inclusion formation. In combination with 0.5% ethanol 1 µM of E 2 induced five to six times more inclusion bodies, while the number of inclusion bodies decreased when epidermal growth factor (EGF) was added to the medium in combination with E 2 . This reduction effect was nullified by treatment with anti-EGF receptor antibody. These findings suggest that E 2 treatment to Armenian hamster hepatocytes in vitro induces Mallory body-like inclusions whose incidence can be influenced by addition of ethanol or EGF to the culture medium.