Incorporation of inorganic sulfate in rat-liver Golgi

Partial subcellular distribution and specifically the incorporation of 35SO4 in the Golgi apparatus of rat liver was studied. The isolated Golgi fraction was placed on a further sucrose gradient for subfraction and in all samples the total incorporated label, the trichloroacetic-acid-soluble and insoluble, and chloroform/methanol-soluble and insoluble amounts of label were measured. Approximately 2.3% of the total injected 35S was found in the liver, of which 2% was localized in the isolated Golgi fraction. Further subfractionation of the Golgi has shown that the majority of the 35S is localized at densities 1.12-1.13 g/cm3 in the gradient. In the isolated Golgi fraction 85% of the label was present in the trichloroacetic-acid-soluble and 15% in the insoluble part. Approximately 1% of the label in the Golgi fraction was soluble in chloroform/methanol. On the bases of radioactivity per weight of protein and total radioactivity, the Golgi fractions had the highest activity, except the first supernatant which had higher radioactivity. Briefly, a significant amount of the 35SO4 can be found in the isolated rat liver Golgi 15 min after the injection of the label, and the majority of this label is localized in the material sedimenting at density 1.12-1.13 g/cm3 after subfractionation of the Golgi apparatus.