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Evidence for intracellular digestion of an exogenous protein by rat peritoneal macrophages
The differential effects of lower incubation temperature on the digestion of formaldehyde-denatured 125I-labelled bovine serum albumin by intact rat peritoneal macrophages and by macrophage homogenates were studied. Digestion by intact macrophages was abolished at 20 degrees C and below, but a near-linear relationship between digestion rate and temperature between 37 degrees C and 5 degrees C was found with homogenates. Several known inhibitors of pinocytosis were found to inhibit the generation of digestion products from 125I-labelled albumin by macrophages. It is concluded that pinocytosis is an obligatory step in the catabolism of exogenous proteins by macrophages.
The differential effects of lower incubation temperature on the digestion of formaldehyde-denatured 125I-labelled bovine serum albumin by intact rat peritoneal macrophages and by macrophage homogenates were studied. Digestion by intact macrophages was abolished at 20 degrees C and below, but a near-linear relationship between digestion rate and temperature between 37 degrees C and 5 degrees C was found with homogenates. Several known inhibitors of pinocytosis were found to inhibit the generation of digestion products from 125I-labelled albumin by macrophages. It is concluded that pinocytosis is an obligatory step in the catabolism of exogenous proteins by macrophages.