[Comparative study of microsomal enzymic activities in adult and foetal monkey hepatocytes (author's transl)]

Differential centrifugation was applied to adult and foetal liver of monkey. Obtained fractions were: F1 (800 X g); F2 (12 500 X g); F3 (200 000 X g); and cell sap. Analysis of chemical compounds of these fractions shows that: (1) adult and foetal nucleic acids levels are similar; (2) there are more proteins in adult than in foetal hepatocytes; (3) most of the glycogen is located in F3; the foetal level is twenty times higher than the adult level. Plasma membrane enzymes (5'-nucleotidase, adenylate cyclase) show a nucleomicrosomic distribution. The distribution of alkaline phosphatase is not significant. Mitochondrial enzymes (monoamine oxydase, succinate cytochrome c reductase, cytochrome oxydase) are enriched in F2 without any sedimentation in F3. There is more malate dehydrogenase liberated in cell sap during foetal liver fractionation. This indicates the foetal mitochondria are more sensitive to the homogenisation method. Lysosomal enzymes (acid phosphatase, N-acetylglucosaminidase) are enriched in F2. The same observation for N-acetylglucosaminidase as for malate dehydrogenase leads to the same conclusion for foetal lysosomes. Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi enzymes (glucose-6-phosphatase and related phosphotransferase activity, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and sialytransferase) are much enriched in F3. Thus this fraction F3 is pure enough to allow the observation of the modification produced on endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus during foetal and neonatal development.