Effect of chloroquine on biosynthesis, processing and secretion of proteins from PC12 cells

Chloroquine is a lysomotropic agent that can raise intraorganelle pH, and has been proposed to divert secretion from a regulated to a constitutive pathway. The authors examined the effect of chloroquine on biosynthesis of dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells. DBH is normally present as a 77,000-Mr and a 73,000-Mr subunit form in near equal amounts. The 77K membrane-bound form is a precursor of the 73K soluble form, which can be secreted with norepinephrine. Pretreatment for 1 hr with 50 μM -1 mM chloroquine and labelling in its presence for 4 hrs inhibited protein synthesis by ∼ 50% with 200 μM and ∼ 90% with 1 mM chloroquine. The overall profile of proteins synthesized was unaltered. However, in the presence of 200 μM chloroquine, the 73K form of DBH predominated. Thus, chloroquine enhanced the post-translational processing of the 77K to the 73K form. Endoglycosidase H digestion of the 73K form from chloroquine-treated or untreated cells yielded a 67.3 K product. Treatment with 200 μM and 1 mM chloroquine essentially prevented the release of [35S]Met-labeled proteins which normally accompany the release of norepinephrine, and allowed the stimulated release of a new set of proteins (<68,000 daltons). The results are very similar to those obtained with monensin. Thus, elevation in intraorganelle pH appears to enhance processing of DBH and impede the secretory process