Related Experiment Videos
Biochemical effects of gentamicin on rat kidney cortex. II. Analytical subfractionation after short-term, high-dose
Abstract:
As a first step in studies on the molecular mechanism(s) underlying gentamicin toxicity, the effect of treating rats with this aminoglycoside antibiotic (100 mg/kg once or twice daily for 3 days) on the analytical subfractionation of the kidney cortex has been examined. DNA was used as a marker for the nuclei, cytochrome oxidase for mitochondria, acid phosphatase for lysosomes, catalase for peroxisomes (with reservations; see the companion paper), NADPH-cytochrome c reductase for the endoplasmic reticulum, p-nitrophenyl-alpha-mannosidase (at pH 5.5) for the Golgi apparatus, AMPase for the plasma membrane in general and alkaline phosphatase for the brush border, and lactate dehydrogenase for the cytosol. In addition, the presumptive lysosomal hydrolases N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, p-nitrophenyl-alpha-mannosidase (at pH 4.5), cathepsin D, and DNase II were monitored. Electron microscopy was also performed on the subfractions obtained. The only significant biochemical changes brought about by gentamicin treatment were that N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase demonstrated both a greater total activity and a larger enrichment in the 104,000gav pellet, while p-nitrophenyl-alpha-mannosidase at pH 4.5 demonstrated the same total activity and a greater enrichment in the 104,000gav pellet. Since myeloid bodies were shown by electron microscopy to sediment primarily with the 500gav and 10,000gav pellets, the biochemical changes seen cannot be associated with these morphological structures. These findings suggest that selective changes in a certain subpopulation(s) of lysosomes or in certain lysosomal enzymes may be involved in the early stages of gentamicin toxicity. On the other hand, no lysosomal membrane damage was observed here, since both the latency of acid phosphatase and the recovery of this activity in the soluble cytosol were unchanged. The present investigation may also have relevance for the dosage and duration of gentamicin treatment chosen in clinical situations.