Studies on fatty liver with isolated hepatocytes. I. The action of colchicine, phalloidin, cytochalasin B, and cycloheximide on protein and triglyceride synthesis and secretion

This report describes the effect of four different drugs on triglyceride and protein secretion in single cell suspension of isolated hepatocytes. Colchicine, phalloidin, and cycloheximide, through different mechanisms, impair lipoprotein secretion and induce an accumulation of triglycerides within the liver cell. Cytochalasin B, however, has no effect on the above processes. All four drugs reduce the secretion of proteins by hepatocytes. This change results either from a block in protein synthesis, as in the cases of cycloheximide and cytochalasin B, or from an interference with the secretory mechanism, as in the case of colchicine. Some data indicate that phalloidin acts in both ways.