The effect of turpentine-induced inflammation on rat liver glycosyltransferases and Golgi complex ultrastructure.

Turpentine-induced inflammation in the rat caused a 1.6--2.3-fold increase in liver homogenate sialyl-, galactosyl- and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase total and specific enzyme activities. Peak transferase activities were achieved at about 40 h after turpentine injection; the rise and fall of these activities corresponded to a similar rise and fall in serum haptoglobin levels. Sialyl- and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activities were measured in both liver homogenates and Golgi-enriched membranes at 24 h after turpentine injection; both total and specific enzyme activities doubled in the homogenates following turpentine treatment but in the Golgi-enriched membranes only the total enzyme activities doubled while the specific enzyme activities increased only by about 20%. These findings suggest that turpentine injection results in an increase of Golgi complex protein relative to total cellular protein. This conclusion was supported by electron microscopic studies of rat liver at various times after turpentine injection. The increased glycosylation potential of the liver and the proliferation of liver Golgi complex may play an important role in the turpentine-induced secretion of acute-phase glycoproteins.