The reorganization of the Golgi complex in anoxic pancreatic acinar cells

An extensive reorganization of the Golgi complex (GC) was found in the acinar cells of pancreatic lobules incubated in vitro under conditions which inhibited ATP synthesis and thereby blocked the intracellular transport of secretory proteins. After 15-min incubation under N2 or in the presence of 1 mM dinitrophenol (DNP), transitional elements of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lost their protrusions, small peripheral Golgi vesicles decreased drastically in number, and fibrillar aggregates approximately 0.2 to 0.5 micron in diameter appeared on the cis side of the stacks of Golgi cisternae. These aggregates often contained vesicle-free, small (approximately 40 nm), globular cages and, occasionally, vesicle-free, clathrin-like cages. Fibrillar aggregates were also observed on the trans side of Golgi stacks. Other changes included the proliferation of GERL-elements ("rigid lamellae") and a striking increase in the population of coated vesicles trans to the Golgi complex and throughout the apical region of the anoxic acinar cells. All changes were found to be reversible provided the cells were incubated for less than 1 h under N2. These observations suggest that the fibrillar elements and the associated cages described in this study may play a role in the vesicular transport of newly synthesized proteins from the ER to the Golgi complex. Further work is needed to explore this possibility.