Peptide hormone receptors in intracellular structures from rat liver

Methods are presented for the preparation and analysis of peptide hormone receptor-rich structures derived from rat hepatocytes. Golgi subfractions are obtained by a differential centrifugation procedure. The subfractions generated have distinctive morphological features and enzyme composition. Intact Golgi preparations, prepared by a single step gradient procedure, are morphologically different but biochemically similar to the subfractions. They are enriched in binding sites for insulin, insulin-like growth factor, lactogen, and growth hormone. The pattern and extent of 125I-labelled insulin binding closely resembles that seen in other Golgi fractions