Nicotine-stimulated proteins in mouse cells are distinct from heat-shock proteins.

Treatment of mouse tissue-culture cells with nicotine concentrations of 1 mM or less had no significant effects on cell viability, morphology or protein synthesis, but higher concentrations resulted in both altered cell morphology (rounding and vacuolization) and alterations in [3H]leucine-labelled protein profiles on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gels. The synthesis of a Mr-70 000 protein was increased more than 2-fold relative to that of other major cellular proteins in 3T3 and L929 cells treated with 5 mM-nicotine and in B16 cells treated with 10 mM-nicotine, and this protein appeared to be a soluble cytoplasmic polypeptide. The radiolabelling of several additional polypeptides (Mr 62 000 in 3T3 cells, and Mr 45 000 and 38 000 in B16 cells) was also stimulated by nicotine. The nicotine-enhanced Mr-70 000 protein was distinct, however, from a major cell stress/heat-shock protein whose synthesis was stimulated after incubation of cells at 43.5 degrees C for 20 min.     

Analysis of the control of citrulline synthesis in isolated rat-liver mitochondria

Irradiation of chicken muscle cells with ultraviolet light (254 nm) to cross-link RNA and protein moieties was used to examine the polypeptide complements of cytoplasmic mRNA-protein complexes (mRNP). The polypeptides of translationally active mRNP complexes released from polysomes were compared to the repressed nonpolysomal cytoplasmic (free) mRNP complexes. In general, all of the polypeptides present in free mRNPs were also found in the polysomal mRNPs. In contrast to polysomal mRNPS, polypeptides of Mr 28 000, 32 000, 46 000, 65 000 and 150 000 were either absent or present in relatively smaller quantities in free mRNP complexes. On the other hand, the relative proportion of polypeptides of Mr 130 000 and 43 000 was higher in free mRNPs than in polysomal mRNP complexes. To examine the role of cytoplasmic mRNP complexes in protein synthesis or mRNA metabolism, the changes in these complexes were studied following (a) inhibition of mRNA synthesis and (b) heat-shock treatment to alter the pattern of protein synthesis. Actinomycin D was used to inhibit mRNA synthesis in chick myotubes. The possibility of newly synthesized polypeptides of cytoplasmic mRNP complexes being assembled into these complexes in the absence of mRNA synthesis was examined. These studies showed that the polypeptides of both free and polysomal mRNP complexes can bind to pre-existing mRNAs, therefore suggesting that polypeptides of mRNP complexes can be exchanged with a pool of RNA-binding proteins. In free mRNP complexes, this exchange of polypeptides is significantly slower than in the polysomal mRNP complexes. Heat-shock treatment of chicken myotubes induces the synthesis of three polypeptides of Mr = 81 000, 65 000 and 25 000 (heat-shock polypeptides). Whether this altered pattern of protein synthesis following heat-shock treatment could affect the polypeptide composition of translationally active polysomal mRNPs was examined. The results of these studies show that, compared to normal cells, more newly synthesized polypeptides were assembled into polysomal mRNPs following heat-shock treatment. A [35S]methionine-labeled polypeptide of Mr = 80 000 was detected in mRNPs of heat-shocked cells, but not of normal cells. This polypeptide was, however, detected by AgNO3 staining of the unlabeled polypeptide of mRNP complexes of normal cells. These results, therefore, suggest that the assembly of newly synthesized 80 000-Mr polypeptide to polysomal mRNPs was enhanced following induction of new heat-shock mRNAs. The results of these studies reported here have been discussed in relation to the concept that free mRNP complexes are inefficiently translated in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Biosynthesis of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein. Control of messenger RNA activity by light

1. Antibodies raised against the 26000-Mr polypeptides of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b proteins of pea leaves specifically immunoprecipitated two 32000-Mr polypeptides synthesized when pea leaf poly(A)-containing RNA was translated in vitro. On the basis of immunochemical relatedness and by comparison of their partial tryptic digestion products, the 32000-Mr products formed in vitro are identified as precursors to the authentic polypeptides of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex. 2. The specificity of the immunoprecipitation permitted the development of an assay for the cellular levels of translationally active light-harvesting protein mRNA in plants exposed to different light regimes. Low levels of the mRNAs were detectable in dark-grown plants. Exposure to continuous illumination caused these levels to increase by at least ten-fold and led to the appearance of large quantities of the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b complex. In plants exposed to intermittent illumination (2 min of white light every 2 h for 2 days), the light-harvesting complex did not accumulate, although levels of mRNA specifying the polypeptides of the complex were high (50% of those in continuously illuminated plants). 3. Messenger RNAs encoding the light-harvesting proteins were detected in polysomes of intermittently illuminated leaves. These polysomes were active in a wheat-germ 100 000 X g supernatant "run-off" system, to form light-harvesting protein precursors, under conditions when only nascent polypeptide chains initiated in vivo were elongated and terminated. These results demonstrate that the inability of intermittently illuminated leaves to accumulate the light-harvesting proteins is not due to a selective inhibition of the translation of the corresponding mRNAs. 4. Intermittently illuminated leaves were labelled with [35S]methionine in darkness, and incorporation of radioisotope into the light-harvesting proteins and their precursors was assayed immunologically. No pool of untransported or unprocessed 32000-Mr precursor polypeptides could be detected in the soluble fraction (cytoplasm and stroma). However, low levels of the mature 26000-Mr polypeptides were detected in the membrane fraction. It is concluded that the newly synthesized light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein fail to accumulate in intermittently illuminated leaves because they undergo rapid turnover. The site of light-harvesting protein breakdown is probably the thylakoid membrane, and the cause of breakdown is probably the absence of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b molecules that are required for eventual stabilization of the proteins within the photosynthetic membrane.     

Covalent cross-linking of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) to its receptor in intact colonic adenocarcinoma cells in culture (HT 29)

[125I]Monoiodinated vasoactive intestinal peptide (125I-VIP) was cross-linked with human colonic adenocarcinoma cells (HT29 cells) grown as a monolayer using dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate) as cross-linking reagent. The cross-linked polypeptides were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. A major polypeptide of Mr = 67 000 was characterized and it behaved like a high-affinity binding site for VIP according to the following data. The concentration of native VIP (0.5 nM) giving half-maximum inhibition of 125I-VIP covalent cross-linking with this polypeptide was very similar to that giving half-maximum displacement of 125I-VIP on HT 29 cells (0.6 nM). Glucagon or insulin was unable to inhibit the labelling of the Mr-67 000 component. In our experimental conditions neither specific 125I-VIP binding nor covalent labelling was observed with monolayers of Madin Darby canine kidney epithelial cells (MDCK cells) or African green monkey kidney fibroblasts (Vero cells) while the Mr-67 000 polypeptide was also characterized with human rectal adenocarcinoma cells (HRT 18 cells), known to possess the VIP receptor. Preincubation of HT 29 cells with native VIP at 37 degrees C, before 125I-VIP binding and subsequent cross-linking reaction, decreased the labelling of the Mr-67 000 polypeptide up to 80%. Assuming one molecule of 125I-VIP cross-linked per polypeptide, we have characterized, for the first time, a major polypeptide of Mr = 64 000, which belongs to the high-affinity VIP binding site of an intestinal human cell line.     

The gamma-aminobutyrate/benzodiazepine receptor from pig brain. Purification and characterization of the receptor complex from cerebral cortex and cerebellum.

The gamma-aminobutyrate/benzodiazepine-receptor complex has been purified from a Triton X-100 extract of crude synaptic membranes from pig cerebral cortex and cerebellum by a combination of affinity and ion-exchange chromatography. [3H]Flunitrazepam binding activity was purified 2200-fold from cortex with an overall yield of 2%. The dissociation constants for the binding of [3H]muscimol and [3H]flunitrazepam to the receptor complex were 14 +/- 3 nM and 14 +/- 2 nM respectively. The ratio of [3H]muscimol to [3H]flunitrazepam binding sites was in the range 2.2-2.8. There appeared to be no selective inactivation of either binding site during the purification procedure. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis revealed two major polypeptides of Mr 49 000 and 55 000 from both cortex and cerebellum. When the receptor from cortex was photoaffinity labelled with [3H]flunitrazepam, radioactivity was incorporated predominantly into the Mr-49 000 polypeptide, although some radioactivity was detectable in the Mr-55 000 band. The cerebellar receptor was photoaffinity labelled on the 49 000-Mr polypeptide but not on the polypeptide of Mr 55 000. In addition, some radioactivity was detected in a minor polypeptide of Mr 43 000. When purified in the presence of 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]propanesulphonate the same major polypeptide components (Mr 49 000 and 55 000) were isolated, but the receptor now retained its ability to be modulated by secobarbital and by the anaesthetic propanidid.     

The catalytic subunits of protein phosphatase-1 and protein phosphatase 2A are distinct gene products

Three forms of protein phosphatase-1 were isolated from rabbit skeletal muscle that had Mr values of 37 000, 34 000 and 33 000 determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) gel electrophoresis. Each species dephosphorylated the beta-subunit of phosphorylase kinase very much faster than the alpha-subunit, was inhibited by inhibitors 1 and 2 with equal potency, and was converted to a form dependent on glycogen synthase kinase-3 and Mg-ATP for activity by incubation with inhibitor-2. Digestion with cyanogen bromide or Staphylococcus aureus proteinase followed by SDS gel electrophoresis showed a very similar pattern of cleavage products for all three forms. The Mr-37 000 and Mr-34 000 species were converted to the Mr-33 000 form by incubation with chymotrypsin. It is concluded that the Mr-33 000 and Mr-34 000 forms are derived from the Mr-37 000 component by limited proteolysis. Conversion of the Mr-37 000 to the Mr-33 000 form was accompanied by a two-fold increase in activity, indicating that an Mr-4000 fragment at one end of the polypeptide is an inhibitory domain that decreases enzyme activity. The catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A from rabbit skeletal muscle had an Mr of 36 000 determined by SDS gel electrophoresis and its specific activity (3 kU/mg) was much lower than that of the Mr-37 000 (15-20 kU/mg) or Mr-33/34 000 (40-50 kU/mg) forms of protein phosphatase-1. It dephosphorylated the alpha-subunit of phosphorylase kinase 4-5-fold faster than the beta-subunit, was unaffected by inhibitor-1 or inhibitor-2, and preincubation with the latter protein did not result in the production of a glycogen synthase kinase-3 and Mg-ATP-dependent form of the enzyme. Digestion with chymotrypsin did not alter the electrophoretic mobility of protein phosphatase 2A under conditions that caused quantitative conversion of the Mr-37 000 form of protein phosphatase-1 to the Mr-33 000 species. Digestion with cyanogen bromide or S. aureus proteinase, followed by SDS gel electrophoresis, showed a quite different pattern of cleavage products to those observed with protein phosphatase 1. Antibody to protein phosphatase-2A raised in sheep did not cross-react with any of the forms of protein phosphatase-1, as judged by immunoelectrophoretic and immunotitration experiments. It is concluded that protein phosphatase-1 and protein phosphatase-2A are distinct gene products.     

Biosynthesis of intestinal microvillar proteins. Processing of aminopeptidase N by microsomal membranes.

The biosynthesis of small-intestinal aminopeptidase N (EC 3.4.11.2) was studied in a cell-free translation system derived from rabbit reticulocytes. When dog pancreatic microsomal fractions were present during translation, most of the aminopeptidase N synthesized was found in a membrane-bound rather than a soluble form, indicating that synthesis of the enzyme takes place on ribosomes attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The microsomal fractions process the Mr-115 000 polypeptide, which is the primary translation product of aminopeptidase N, to a polypeptide of Mr 140 000. This was found to be sensitive to the action of endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (EC 3.2.1.96), showing that aminopeptidase N undergoes transmembrane glycosylation during synthesis. The position of the signal sequence in aminopeptidase N was determined by a synchronized translation experiment. It was found that microsomal fractions should be added before about 25% of the polypeptide was synthesized to ensure processing to the high-mannose glycosylated form. This suggests that the signal sequence is situated in the N-terminal part of the aminopeptidase N. The size of the cell-free translation product in the absence of microsomal fractions was found to be similar to that on one of the forms of the enzyme obtained from tunicamycin-treated organ-cultured intestinal explants.     

Characterization of the integral membrane polypeptides of rat liver peroxisomes isolated from untreated and clofibrate-treated rats.

We have characterized the integral membrane polypeptides of liver peroxisomes from untreated rats and rats treated with clofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator. Membranes, prepared by treatment of purified peroxisomes with sodium carbonate, were used to raise an antiserum in rabbits. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated the reaction of this antiserum with six peroxisomal integral membrane polypeptides (molecular masses, 140, 69, 50, 36, 22, and 15 kDa). Treatment of rats with the hypolipidemic drug clofibrate caused a 4- to 10-fold induction in the 69-kDa integral membrane polypeptide, while the other integral membrane polypeptides remained unchanged or varied to a lesser extent. The anti-peroxisomal membrane serum reacted with two integral membrane polypeptides of the endoplasmic reticulum which co-migrated with the 50- and 36-kDa integral membrane polypeptides of the peroxisome. Biochemical and immunoblot analyses indicated that these integral membrane polypeptides were co-localized to peroxisomes and endoplasmic reticulum. Immunoprecipitation of in vitro translation products of RNA isolated from free and membrane-bound polysomes indicated that the 22-, 36-, and 69-kDa integral membrane polypeptides were synthesized on free polysomes, while the 50-kDa integral membrane polypeptide was predominantly synthesized on membrane-bound polysomes. The predominant synthesis of the 50-kDa integral membrane polypeptide on membrane-bound polysomes raises interesting possibilities concerning its biosynthesis.     

Triton X-100 activates nucleoside triphosphate-dependent, recBC-dependent DNA synthesis in toluene-treated Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli cells whose chromosome replication has been terminated in vivo, either by growth into stationary phase or by incubation of a mutant carrying a temperature-sensitive initiation mutation under restrictive conditions, are inactive in in vitro DNA synthesis as measured in toluene-treated cells. Addition of the non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 to such inactive systems results in a marked stimulation of ATP-dependent in vitro DNA synthesis. This Triton-stimulated DNA synthesis appears to proceed by a semi-conservative mechanism, in that DNA synthesized in vitro in the presence of a density labeled precursor bands in CsCl equilibrium centrifugation at a hybrid density. Neutral sucrose gradient centrifugation demonstrates that most of this hybrid material exhibits a molecular weight in excess of 1 X 10(7). Triton-stimulated synthesis requires the presence of DNA polymerase III, as does normal in vivo replication. We show here, however, several anomalous properties of the DNA synthesis in the Triton/toluene system. In particular, Triton-stimulated synthesis is absent in cells harboring a recB mutation which lack the ATP-dependent exonuclease V, an enzyme implicated in recombinational repair synthesis in vivo. Furthermore, the ATP requirement for Triton-stimulated synthesis is relatively non-sepcific, and a variety of nucleoside triphosphates can effectively substitute for ATP. Finally, despite their high molecular weight in neutral sucrose gradient centrifugation, Triton-stimulated DNA synthesis generates DNA molecules of low molecular weight (less than 500 000) as determined by alkaline sucrose gradient centrifugation. In contrast, DNA synthesis in the normal toluene-treated cell system is not dependent on recB activity, shows a nearly absolute requirement for ATP which cannot be replaced by other nucleoside triphosphates, and produces molecules of far greater molecular weight as measured on alkaline sucrose gradients. Taken altogether the data strongly suggest that Triton activates an unusual form of DNA synthesis in toluene-treated cells which shows both repair and replicative aspects. These results caution against the use of Triton-activated toluene-treated cells system, for studying simple replicative DNA synthesis.     

The moxFG region encodes four polypeptides in the methanol-oxidizing bacterium Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1.

The polypeptides encoded by a putative methanol oxidation (mox) operon of Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1 were expressed in Escherichia coli, using a coupled in vivo T7 RNA polymerase/promoter gene expression system. Two mox genes had been previously mapped to this region: moxF, the gene encoding the methanol dehydrogenase (MeDH) polypeptide; and moxG, a gene believed to encode a soluble type c cytochrome, cytochrome cL. In this study, four polypeptides of Mr 60,000, 30,000, 20,000, and 12,000 were found to be encoded by the moxFG region and were tentatively designated moxF, -J, -G, and -I, respectively. The arrangement of the genes (5' to 3') was found to be moxFJGI. The identities of three of the four polypeptides were determined by protein immunoblot analysis. The product of moxF, the Mr-60,000 polypeptide, was confirmed to be the MeDH polypeptide. The product of moxG, the Mr-20,000 polypeptide, was identified as mature cytochrome cL, and the product of moxI, the Mr-12,000 polypeptide, was identified as a MeDH-associated polypeptide that copurifies with the holoenzyme. The identity of the Mr-30,000 polypeptide (the moxJ gene product) could not be determined. The function of the Mr-12,000 MeDH-associated polypeptide is not yet clear. However, it is not present in mutants that lack the Mr-60,000 MeDH subunit, and it appears that the stability of the MeDH-associated polypeptide is dependent on the presence of the Mr-60,000 MeDH polypeptide. Our data suggest that both the Mr-30,000 and -12,000 polypeptides are involved in methanol oxidation, which would bring to 12 the number of mox genes in Methylobacterium sp. strain AM1.     

Synthesis of S100 Protein on Free and Membrane-Bound Polysomes of the Rabbit Brain

Abstract: Free and membrane-bound polysomes were isolated from the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum of the young adult rabbit. The two polysomal populations were translated in an mRNA-dependent cell-free system derived from rabbit reticulocytes. Analysis of the [³⁵S]methionine-labeled translation products on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels indicated an efficient separation of the two classes of brain polysomes. The relative synthesis of S100 protein by free and membrane- bound polysomes was determined by direct immuno-precipitation of the cell-free translation products in the presence of detergents to reduce nonspecific trapping. Synthesis of S100 protein was found to be twofold greater on membrane-bound polysomes compared with free polysomes isolated from either the cerebral hemispheres or the cerebellum. In addition, the proportion of poly- (A+)mRNA coding for SlOO protein was also twofold greater in membrane-bound polysomes compared with free polysomes isolated from the cerebral hemispheres. These results indicate that the cytoplasmic S100 protein is synthesized predominantly on membrane-bound polysomes in the rabbit brain. We suggest that the nascent S100 polypeptide chain translation complex is attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum by an ionic interaction involving a sequence of 13 basic amino acids in S100 protein.     

Synthesis of heat shock proteins in Drosophila melanogaster embryos

The pattern of polypeptides synthesized in a cell-free protein synthesizing system containing polysomes isolated from heat-shocked (37 C) Drosophila embryos showed significant differences when compared with the pattern obtained when polysomes from normal embryos were used. The synthesis of normal embryonal proteins was reduced and the heat shock proteins were the major products of elongation. After short, 10 min, heat treatment mainly quantitative changes were observed suggesting that normal mRNAs were still present on polysomes, and their products could be completed in vitro in the heterologous cell-free system. The mRNAs coding for normal embryonal proteins were present in almost unchanged amounts in heat-shocked embryos as could be judged from the pattern of proteins synthesized in heterologous cell-free system supplemented with cytoplasmic RNA from normal and heat-shocked embryos. Thus the change in protein synthesis in heat-shocked embryos is not associated with degradation of normal embryonal mRNAs but with their inaccessibility for translation.     

Formation of a 22S mRNA X rRNA X protein complex during translation of globin messenger RNA

Poly(A)-rich RNA was isolated from rabbit reticulocyte polyribosomes by affinity chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose and fractionated in sucrose gradients under non-denaturing conditions. Most of the translatable RNA sedimented in sucrose gradients both as free 9S mRNA and as a 22S complex containing 18S ribosomal RNA and a protein of Mr 66 000. The complex was characterized by identification of the translation products. Experiments with both labelled globin mRNA and Mr-66 000 protein indicate that the complex is not an artefact, but rather that it is formed during the initiation of protein synthesis. The Mr-66 000 protein appears to be a component of the 48S pre-initiation complex and recycles before 80S complex formation.     

Cell-free Synthesis of Globulin by Developing Oat (Avena sativa L.) Seeds

The primary storage protein synthesized during oat (Avena sativa L.) groat development is a globulin. Polysomes were isolated from oat groats 12 days after anthesis. These polysomes directed the incorporation of radioactive amino acids into protein in a cell-free protein synthesis system containing wheat germ supernatant. The Mg(2+) optimum was 4 mm, the pH optimum was 6-8, and the amount of amino acid incorporation depended on polysome concentration. Incorporation of amino acids was linear for about 10 min and approached a maximum after 20 min. Using the initiation inhibitor, T-2 toxin, it was determined that about 36% of the amino acid incorporation was due to the initiation of new polypeptide chains. The in vitro product co-electrophoresed with authentic oat groat globulin on polyacrylamide-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels. The cyanogen bromide peptides of the in vitro product partially corresponded with those from authentic globulin when electrophoresed on polyacrylamide-SDS gels. These data suggest that the in vitro product is primarily oat globulin. The polysome population was separated into membrane-bound and free polysomes. Membrane-bound polysomes synthesized about twice the amount of protein as did free polysomes. Products synthesized in vitro on both types of polysomes were essentially the same.     

Polypeptides of a Light-Harvesting Complex of the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Are Synthesized in the Cytoplasm of the Cell as Precursors

A light-harvesting fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c-protein complex has been isolated from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum by detergent extraction of thylakoid membranes coupled with sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The isolated complex was devoid of photochemical activity and displayed spectral characteristics consistent with light harvesting function. It has three major polypeptides of apparent molecular weights 18,000, 19,000, and 19,500 as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Using protein synthesis inhibitors, these polypeptides were shown to be synthesized on 80S cytoplasmic ribosomes. Antibodies raised to a mixture of the 19,000 and 19,500 dalton components of the complex were used to demonstrate structural similarity among the three polypeptide components. Immunoprecipitation from primary translation products synthesized in a reticulocyte lysate system primed with P. tricornutum poly(A) RNA, indicates that the polypeptide components are synthesized as precursors 3,000 to 5,000 daltons larger than the mature polypeptides.     

Incorporation of light-harvesting complex I alpha and beta polypeptides into the intracytoplasmic membrane of Rhodobacter capsulatus.

The light-harvesting complex I (LHI) of Rhodobacter capsulatus is an oligomer of basic subunits each consisting of the two different pigment-binding polypeptides LHI alpha and LHI beta, encoded by the pufA (LHI alpha) and pufB (LHI beta) genes. Pulse-labeling experiments showed that in the presence of the LHI alpha polypeptide, the LHI beta polypeptide was inserted earlier into the intracytoplasmic membrane than was the LHI alpha polypeptide. Each of the pufA and pufB genes was deleted to test whether the LHI alpha and beta polypeptides, respectively, are inserted into the intracytoplasmic membrane independently of the LHI partner polypeptide. Neither deletion mutant strain formed the LHI antenna, but a functional reaction center complex was present. Pulse-labeling experiments indicated that the LHI beta polypeptide was inserted into the intracytoplasmic membrane with the same kinetics and in the same amounts regardless of whether the LHI alpha polypeptide was present. However, the LHI beta polypeptide did not accumulate in the membrane in the absence of the LHI alpha protein but was degraded linearly within about 12 min. In contrast to the LHI beta protein, only trace amounts of the LHI alpha polypeptide were inserted into or attached to the membrane if the LHI beta polypeptide was not synthesized.     

Predominant synthesis of fibroin heavy and light chains on the membrane-bound polysomes prepared from the posterior silk gland of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Membrane-bound polysomes were prepared from the posterior silk gland of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, on the fourth to fifth day in the fifth larval instar. The polysomes, when supplemented with a soluble fraction from the posterior silk gland, exhibited the elongation reaction of the growing polypeptide-chains, but the initiation reaction of polypeptide synthesis was not demonstrated in this system. The predominant products synthesized on the membrane-bound polysomes were fibroin heavy chain (H-chain) and light chain (L-chain), while polypeptides of heterogeneous size classes were synthesized on the 105,000 X g-sedimentable polysomes. A substantial fraction of the fibroin L-chain synthesized was bound to the H-chain by disulfide bond. Most of the newly synthesized fibroin H- and L-chains on the membrane-bound polysomes were proved to be present within microsomal membrane vesicles because of their insensitivity to digestion with proteases in the absence of Triton X-100.     

Synthesis and Posttranslational Activation of Sulfhydryl-Endopeptidase in Cotyledons of Germinating Vigna mungo Seeds

A sulfhydryl-endopeptidase was purified as a 33 kilodalton (kD) mass polypeptide from cotyledons of Vigna mungo seedlings. Immunoblot analysis with antiserum made against the purified enzyme showed that the sulfhydryl-endopeptidase was synthesized only in the cotyledons during germination and that the amount of the enzyme increased until 4 days after imbibition and decreased thereafter. Next, an RNA fraction was prepared from cotyledons of 3 day old seedlings and translated in a wheat germ system. The synthesis of a 45 kD polypeptide was shown by the analysis of its translation products by immunoprecipitation with the antiserum to the endopeptidase and gel electrophoresis. When the RNA fraction was translated in the presence of canine microsomal membranes, a smaller polypeptide, having a 43 kD molecular mass, was detected as the translation product. When membrane-bound polysomes, but not free polysomes, prepared from cotyledons were used for translation in the wheat germ system, both the 43 and 45 kD polypeptides were synthesized. By incubation of a crude enzyme extract from cotyledons at 5 ± 1°C at neutral pH, the 43 kD polypeptide was sequentially cleaved to the 33 kD polypeptide via 39 and 36 kD intermediate polypeptides. The endopeptidase was activated simultaneously with the processing. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the 33 kD polypeptide was the fully activated form of the enzyme, whereas little or no activity was detected in other forms. From the present results, we postulate that the sulfhydryl-endopeptidase is first synthesized as the 45 kD precursor with a 2 kD signal peptide being cleaved, and that the 43 kD polypeptide is further cleaved to give the 33kD mature enzyme.