Modification of rat liver chromatin by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine or N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and template activity for RNA synthesis by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase after reconstitution.

Rat liver chromatin was fractionated into DNA, histones and non-histone chromosomal proteins and each component was modified with N-methyl-l-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine of N-ethyl-N'-nitrosoguanidine. The radioactivity of 14C-labeled alkyl or guanidino moieties of both compounds bound significantly to both histones and non-histone chromosomal proteins and the binding of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine was higher than N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. However the binding of both compounds to DNA was very low and its significance was hard to evaluate. All of the three components, one of which was modified, were reconstituted into chromatin, then, [3H]UMP incorporation into acid insoluble material using Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6) was measured. Only with the reconstituted chromatin containing histones modified either by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine or N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, the template activity increased drastically; i.e., about 10 or 5 times higher than that with the unmodified reconstituted chromatin, respectively. However, any remarkable alteration in the electrophoretic pattern of protein fraction of the reconstituted chromatin could not be found. The results obtained in this study are discussed in the context that the modified histones could give rise to change in the mutual interaction of chromosomal components during the reconstitution of chromatin accompanied with the increase of chromatine template activity.     

Alterations in DNA-dependent RNA polymerase I from rat liver accompanying ethionine administration

Multiple injections of ethionine plus adenine resulted in 3- to 4-fold increases in the activity of RNA polymerase I from rat liver nuclei, whereas the activity of RNA polymerase II was relatively unaffected. Methyl-deficient preribosomal RNA was present in the livers of rats after treatment for 2 days. Both incorporation of labelled orotate into rat liver ribosomal RNA and protein synthesis in polysomes gradually increased.     

Relationship between RNA polymerase I activity and ornithine decarboxylase in rat liver tissues.

In order to examine the relationship between RNA polymerase I and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), three lines of experiments were performed, with the following results. The glucocorticoid-induced increase of RNA polymerase I in rat liver nuclei was not abolished by administration of inhibitors of ODC synthesis and activity, namely 1,3-diaminopropane and 2-difluoromethylornithine respectively. Anti-ODC antibody did not cross-react with RNA polymerase I solubilized from rat liver nucleoli, indicating the absence of a common protein sequence in these enzymes. The ODC preparation which was treated with transglutaminase in the presence of putrescine could not stimulate the activity of RNA polymerase I in nuclei of liver and prostate. All these results suggest that the increases in ODC protein or activity are not a prerequisite to the increase in RNA polymerase I after hormonal or physiological stimuli, but rather that the increases in both enzymes are separate responses to the primary stimuli.     

Early stimulation of rat liver microsomal protein synthesis after tri-iodothyronine injection in vivo.

In an effort to determine the physiological significance of previous studies showing stimulation of microsomal protein synthesis by thyroxine added in vitro, an early effect of tri-iodothyronine injected in vivo was sought. Tri-iodothyronine (25 micrograms/100 g) administered to euthyroid rats stimulated microsomal protein synthesis in vitro within 3--6 h. This effect occurred much earlier than the 26 h lag previously reported after tri-iodothyronine administration to hypothyroid rats. This early effect of tri-iodothyronine on protein synthesis is prevented by alpha-amanitin, suggesting that it is dependent on RNA synthesis. The failure to find a direct effect in vivo of tri-iodothyronine on translation casts doubt on the physiological significance of previous studies that have shown a direct stimulation of translation by thyroxine added in vitro.