BINDING-STUDIES AND LOCALIZATION OF ESCHERICHIA-COLI LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE IN CULTURED-HEPATOCYTES BY AN IMMUNOCOLLOIDAL-GOLD TECHNIQUE

In this study, the uptake and localization of an Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, and the temperature effects on these processes, were studied in rat cultured hepatocytes using a binding assay and an immunocolloidal gold technique. The lipopolysaccharide was found to bind to the cell membrane and microvilli after short incubation times, at both 4-degrees-C and 37-degrees-C. This was followed by a dispersed localization into the cytoplasm, reaching mitochondria. The uptake was found not to be receptor-mediated. A decrease of temperature, delays, but does not prevent, the lipopolysaccharide internalization.