Biosynthesis of Lipopolysaccharide-Binding Protein in Rabbit Hepatocytes

Studies reported here show that the recently discovered acute-phase protein, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), is synthesized by hepatocytes. For these studies, explanted rabbit hepatocytes were grown in the presence of 35S-methionine. Biosynthetically labelled LBP in the cells and supernatant was identified using immunoprecipitation with rat anti-rabbit LBP antibody. This antibody immunoprecipitates both the LBP polypeptide and the glycosylated protein. With a cell-free translation system a comparison of RNA from normal rabbit liver with that isolated from acute-phase rabbit liver indicated that a translatable LBP message is only found in the RNA from acute-phase liver. Studies wit…