Retinoic acid-induced Golgi apparatus disruption in F2000 fibroblasts: a model for enhanced intracellular retrograde transport.

Retinoic acid (RA) can transform the Golgi apparatus (GA) into a diffuse vacuolar aggregate and increase the toxicity of some immunotoxins that enter into cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis. An ultramorphological study of the RA-induced GA disruption was performed on F2000 fibroblasts. Cultures were treated with 0.11 to 30 microM RA for 7-180 min. The endocytosis of Limax flavus agglutinin-peroxidase conjugate (LFA), and the interactions between a phorbol ester (PMA) and RA concerning GA disruption, were examined. Exposure to 0.33 microM RA for 20 min transformed the GA into vacuolar aggregate. These vacuoles were not involved in endocytosis since they remained unstained after endocytosis of LFA. However, the lysosomes were involved in endocytosis, as they were strongly stained. Therefore, a RA-induced shift towards lysosomal routing of the entered LFA was presumed. Exposure to PMA made cells resistant to the Golgi-disturbing effects of RA, indicating that protein kinase C plays an important role in this process.