Functional responses of the rat hepatic endoplasmic reticulum to treatment proposed as a model for cholestasis

Concurrent treatments of cobalt chloride (CoCl2) and phenobarbital (PB), alone or in combination with lithocholic acid (LCA), were administered to rats for 7 days to assess whether or not a hypoactive hypertrophic smooth endoplasmic reticulum (HHSER) could be induced, as well as investigating the potential role of HHSER in the pathogenesis of cholestasis. LCA given alone slightly reduced hepatic triglycerides, significantly elevated plasma triglycerides and decreased microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P-ase) activity. PB administered alone significantly increased hepatic phospholipids and microsomal protein, phospholipid and cytochrome P-450 contents, as well as microsomal aminopyrine-N-demethylase (APDM-ase) activity. Functional indicators of liver impairment were associated primarily with CoCl2 treatment, whether given alone or in combination with PB + LCA. These signs included significantly reduced hepatic triglycerides, and increased plasma triglycerides associated with enhanced release of hepatic VLDL-triglycerides, as well as significantly decreased microsomal G6P-ase activity and/or reduced APDM-ase activity and cytochrome P-450 content. Elevated plasma bilirubin levels, and aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities were also evident with concurrent CoCl2 + PB + LCA treatments. Combined CoCl2 + PB treatments, with or without LCA, caused significant increases in microsomal protein and phospholipid, and decreased activity of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) marker G6P-ase, but no changes in cytochrome P-450 levels and no marked alterations in the activity of the SER marker APDM-ase. The data indicated that simultaneous CoCl2 and PB treatments, whether given alone or in combination with LCA, caused a functional impairment of the RER, and did not induce HHSER membranes.