Effects of chloroquine and hepatic stimulator substance on cellular accumulation and nuclear binding of 125I-epidermal growth factor in primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes.

The effects of chloroquine and hepatic stimulator substance (HSS) on cellular accumulation and nuclear binding of 125I-epidermal growth factor (EGF) were examined in primary culture of adult rat hepatocytes. When intact hepatocytes were incubated at 37 degrees C with 125I-EGF, the cellular accumulation and the nuclear binding reached a peak at 1 h and declined thereafter, where the nuclear binding was 2.49% at 1 h and 2.53% at 2 h. Chloroquine resulted in a time-dependent increase in the cellular accumulation and the nuclear binding was 3.37% at 1 h and 3.72% at 2 h. In contrast, HSS produced no change in each value, suggesting that HSS does not modulate EGF receptors in plasma membrane and nucleus.