Synthetic activity of isolated rat liver nuclei : I. Ultrastructural study at various steps of isolation

The incorporation of labelled amino acids into hot TCA-insoluble material was used as a measure of protein elaboration in nuclear fractions and compared with the kinetics and distribution of labelling by means of electronmicroscope autoradiography.The method of isolation and the various controls were designed in order to exclude reasonably that this incorporation could be due to cytoplasmic contamination.The pattern of incorporation was found to be characteristic, as compared with microsomal systems. It was insensitive to RNAse and did not require a cytoplasmic pH 5 fraction or an exogenous energy-yielding system.The localization of the activity in the autoradiographs was not random, but clearly associated with definite regions of the nucleus. The nucleolus was 3 times as radioactive as the rest of the nucleus.These results can be interpreted in favor of the concept that protein synthesis occurs in the nucleus. The theoretical limitations of this conclusion are discussed.     

Effect of nucleoside triphosphate and magnesium ion concentration on the stability and function of rat liver polysomes in vitro

The effects of different concentrations of ATP, GTP, UTP and CTP on polysome stability and function in a cell-free protein-synthesizing system prepared from rat liver were studied. Increasing the concentration of ATP in the incubation medium to 15mm resulted in progressive disaggregation of the polysomes; at ATP concentrations above 2mm their capacity to incorporate amino acids into peptide chains diminished. The same disaggregation phenomenon could be produced by incubating polysomes in a buffered medium containing 5mm-Mg(2+) and increasing concentrations of ATP. Although the disaggregating action of ATP could be prevented by increasing Mg(2+) concentration, the amino acid incorporation in the cell-free protein-synthesizing system remained impaired. The effects of different concentrations of GTP, UTP and CTP on polysome stability were similar to those of ATP. Increasing the concentrations of each nucleoside triphosphate also inhibited the hydrolysis of GTP in the cell-free protein-synthesizing system.     

AMINO ACID INCORPORATION IN VITRO INTO PROTEIN OF NEURONAL AND GLIAL CELL-ENRICHED FRACTIONS

Slices of rabbit cerebral cortex were incubated in the presence of labelled amino acids. Following incubation, neuron- and gliaenriched fractions were obtained by density gradient centrifugation and the TCA-insoluble radioactivity determined. The protein-bound radioactivity was five to six times higher in the neuronal-enriched fraction than in the glial-enriched fraction after incubation with tritiated leucine. The neuronal fraction incorporated also a number of other amino acids to a higher extent than the glial fraction (neuron/glia ratio 2·5-6). A definite dependence of incorporation on the rate of oxygenation was demonstrated. The suppression of amino acid incorporation was more marked for the neuronal fraction than for the glial fraction during incubation in relative hypoxia. An increase of potassium concentration in the incubation medium enhanced the amino acid incorporation in both fractions. Low sodium levels decreased the incorporation. Puromycin inhibited incorporation to approximately 30 per cent of control for both fractions. Addition of cycloheximide and dinitrophenol resulted in greater inhibition of incorporation in the neuronal fraction than in the neuroglial fraction. Actinomycin D did not markedly affect the incorporation in any fraction. These results are discussed in relation to in vivo and in in vitro differences for transport and incorporation of amino acids.     

ACTIVATION IN VITRO OF RAT LIVER POLYRIBOSOMES

The increase in the incorporation of amino acids into protein in vitro by preparations obtained from protein-fed rats as compared with preparations obtained from carbohydrate-fed rats has been described previously. After molecular sieving through Sephadex G-25 of cell-free preparations, the difference in incorporating activity between the two types of rats was diminished in systems containing ATP, phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate kinase, GTP, and a mixture of amino acids. When, after molecular sieving, a mitochondrial (15,000 g) supernatant was incubated for 4 min at 35°C the polysomal pattern of the preparations was unchanged. In the presence of ATP, phosphoenolpyruvate, and pyruvate kinase the polysomal incorporating activity was low and the polysomal pattern was only slightly changed. Addition of GTP increased the activity markedly, and a more pronounced activity was observed when a mixture of amino acids was added as well. As the amino acid incorporation ability increased, monosomes were formed from the polyribosomes. The activity of the polyribosomes was severalfold higher than that of non-Sephadex-treated preparations, indicating an activation of polysomal aggregates which under the usually applied conditions of incubation and prior to molecular sieving show little or insignificant activity. It was possible to activate polyribosomes from carbohydrate-fed and protein-fed rats to almost the same extent.     

Protein synthesis in tomato-fruit locule tissue: Incorporation of amino acids into protein by aseptic cell-free systems

1. Osmotically disrupted protoplasts and isolated plastids from tomato-fruit locule tissue were found capable of incorporating (14)C-labelled amino acids under aseptic conditions into an exhaustively washed trichloroacetic acid-insoluble protein fraction. 2. The disrupted protoplast system incorporated 20-45mumumoles of amino acid/mg. of protein in 10min. The isolated plastid system incorporated 10-20mumumoles of amino acid/mg. of protein; 40-150mumug. of carbon/mg. of protein was incorporated in 10min. from (14)C-labelled amino acid mixture. 3. Incorporation is stimulated by added ATP in the dark, but no added ATP is required when the system is illuminated. The cell-free plastid system is to some extent self-sufficient and does not normally require an added supernatant fraction or unlabelled amino acids. 4. Amino acid incorporation by plastids is inhibited by chloramphenicol, puromycin, actinomycin D, ribonuclease and deoxyribonuclease. It is suggested that the mechanism of protein synthesis in the cell-free plastids, and in the tissue generally, is basically the same as established for bacteria. Ribosomes and highspeed supernatant from this tissue were to some extent interchangeable with Escherichia coli ribosomes and supernatant in cell-free incubations. 5. Incorporation of amino acids by isolated plastids was stimulated by indol-3-ylacetic acid and kinetin, and, whereas incorporation normally proceeds for only 10-20min., the time-course was extended in the presence of these growth substances. It is suggested that hormones may be involved in the regulation of protein synthesis in plants.     

对tRNA和mRNA双依赖的兔网织红细胞无细胞蛋白合成体系的制备

本文在Gilbert和Anderson及Pel-ham和Jackson方法的基础上加以改进,制备了一个对tRNA和二RNA双依赖的兔网织红细胞无细胞蛋白合成体系。在有TMV RNA存在的情况下,加入兔网织红细胞总tRNA,氨基酸参入比不加tRNA的对照高40倍以上。在有兔网织红细胞总七RNA存在的情况下,加入TMVNA或Poly(rU),氨基酸参入分别比不加外源mRNA的对照高10倍和7倍以上。这个双依赖的无细胞蛋白合成体系是检测单一tRNA和mRNA生物活性的有用工具。     

Synthesis of the acid-soluble proteins in early cleaving embryos of the sea urchin. Cyclic synthesis of histones.

Synthesis of the acid-soluble proteins in the early cleavage stage of the sea urichin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, was investigated. As detected by the incorporation of lysine, the acid-soluble proteins were synthesized periodically even before the first cleavage, differing from the pattern of incorporation of tryptophan into the fraction. Cyclic synthesis occurred almost in parallel with DNA synthesis. However, the phase and periodicity of cyclic synthesis of the acid-soluble protein fraction were quite different from those found in the hot TCA-insoluble (acid-insoluble) protein fraction. The acid-soluble proteins were adsorbed on cation exchange resin, Amberlite CG-50, and gave an elution profile similar to that found for calf thymus histones. The migration pattern of these proteins on acrylamide gel also resembled that of histones.     

Protein synthesis in bacteriophage ghost-infected cells.

Escherichia coli B infected with T4 phage ghosts at 10 mM Mg2+ regains its protein synthesizing activity upon addition of ATP, GTP, and their generator to approximately 2% of the intact exponentially growing cells. In contrast to amino acid incorporation by intact cells, this system is sensitive to EDTA or low Mg2+. On the other hand, this system, differing from the regular cell-free system, does not respond to addition of soluble protein and ribonuclease. The ghost-infected cells were able to synthesize beta-galactosidase upon addition of the inducer isopropyl thiogalactoside. The initial rate of the induction was 2.6% of intact cells. For this induction, the addition of cyclic AMP, amino acids, ATP, GTP, UTP, CTP, and their generator was necessary. The induction of beta-galactosidase in these ghost-infected cells was very sensitive to the addition of EDTA, CaCl2, sulfhydryl blocking reagent, rifampin and chloramphenicol but insensitive to DNA synthesis inhibitors such as nalidixic acid and DNase.     

Polyribosomes, isolated from rat liver in a low ionic strength medium, capable of autonomic translation in a cell-free system without the addition of cellular fluid

Polyribosomes isolated from the liver in the presence of 10 mM KCl and purified by centrifugation through 2 M sucrose were shown to incorporate [3H]leucine both into aminoacyl-tRNA and polypeptides in a cell-free system without cell sap. The incorporation of [3H]leucine showed a linear increase within 80-100 min and was then levelled off. The system was sensitive to cycloheximide, puromycin and ethionine and needed ATP, GTP and unlabeled amino acids. The quantitation of tRNA in polyribosomes (the fraction which did not sediment with the subparticles after polyribosome dissociation) revealed more than two tRNA molecules per 80S monosome. It is likely that this tRNA excess as well as the earlier established presence of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and elongation factors promote the autonomic translation of polyribosomes.     

Amino acid incorporation by cell fractions from the oviduct of the laying hen and the synthesis of egg-white proteins

1. Homogenates of the magnum of the hen oviduct have been fractionated by differential centrifuging. 2. Centrifuging at 600g for 10min. gave a pellet containing most of the particulate material of the cell, but on washing this fraction some particles were removed from it. The washed 600g pellet contained most of the DNA of the homogenate. 3. Centrifuging the 600g supernatants at 10000g for 10min. gave particulate fractions (I particles) richer in RNA than other fractions which were active in incorporating amino acids into protein in isolation. When minced tissue was incubated with radioactive amino acids before homogenizing these particles were the most radioactive of the cell fractions. 4. The pellet obtained by centrifuging the 10000g supernatant at 105000g for 60min. was very small; its RNA/protein ratio was raised compared with that of the homogenate. It only incorporated amino acids in isolation to a small extent or not at all. 5. The 105000g supernatant contained a large proportion of the protein of the homogenate. 6. The I particles could be subfractionated by layering over denser sucrose to give a pellet with lower RNA content and incorporating activity, and also suspended material richer in both these properties. 7. Treatment of the I particles with deoxycholate gave rise to particles sedimenting at 105000g for 60min. containing most of the RNA of the original particles, but only about 34% of the protein, and with a high activity in incorporating amino acids. 8. The I particles, or particles derived from them by deoxycholate treatment, required GTP and phosphoenolpyruvate for the incorporation of free amino acids. The omission of ATP reduced the incorporation to varying extents. Chicken-liver cell sap stimulated the activity. 9. Radioactive amino acids linked to transfer RNA were transferred to protein by I particles. GTP and phosphoenolpyruvate were required for this transfer. The phosphoenolpyruvate requirement could not be replaced by increasing the GTP concentration. ATP partially inhibited the transfer. 10. After incorporation by the cell-free system, the hot-trichloroacetic acid extract, but not the lipid extract, was radioactive. Ribonuclease and puromycin inhibited at low concentrations. Lecithinase-C was much less inhibitory. Transfer of amino acid, from a radioactive lipid-amino acid complex prepared from hen oviduct, was not detected. 11. After short periods of incubation of minced tissue with [(14)C]lysine some of the radioactive protein of the isolated I particles behaved as ovalbumin. The distribution of radioactivity in the protein resembled that in ovalbumin in soluble extracts of the tissue obtained after longer periods of incubation.     

The incorporation of glycerol and lysine into the lipid fraction of Staphylococcus aureus

1. Incubation of washed cells of Staphylococcus aureus with [1-¹⁴C]glycerol results in the incorporation of glycerol into the lipid fraction of the cells. The rate of incorporation is increased by the presence of glucose and amino acids. The presence of amino acids increases incorporation into the fraction containing O-amino acid esters of phosphatidylglycerol. 2. Glycerol, incorporated into washed cells by incubation with glycerol, glucose and amino acids, is rapidly released from the lipid fraction when cells are incubated at low suspension densities in buffer. 3. Of nine amino acids tested, only lysine is significantly incorporated into the lipid fraction. The incorporation is increased by the presence of glycerol, glucose and other amino acids, especially aspartate and glutamate. 4. The incorporation of lysine is increased by the addition of puromycin at concentrations that inhibit protein synthesis. Chloramphenicol does not increase the incorporation of lysine but abolishes the enhancing effect of puromycin. 5. The enhancing effect of puromycin is accompanied by a similar increase in the incorporation of lysine into the fraction soluble in hot trichloroacetic acid. 6. Lysine is incorporated into the lipid fraction that contains O-amino acid esters of phosphatidylglycerol and corresponds in properties to phosphatidylglyceryl-lysine. 7. Lysine is rapidly released from the lipid of cells incubated in buffer only at low suspension densities. 8. Incubation of cells with the phosphatidylglyceryl-lysine fraction does not lead to the appearance of free lysine or to incorporation into the fraction insoluble in hot trichloroacetic acid.     

Inhibitory effect of pH5 enzyme from non-lactating bovine mammary gland on various stages of protein synthesis in the rat liver amino acid-incorporating system

1. pH5 enzyme from non-lactating bovine mammary gland was found to contain potent inhibitors of protein synthesis in the rat liver cell-free system. These inhibitors affect (a) formation of aminoacyl-tRNA where tRNA represents transfer RNA, (b) transfer of labelled amino acids from rat liver amino[(14)C]acyl-tRNA to protein in rat liver polyribosomes, and (c) incorporation of (14)C-labelled amino acids into peptide by rat liver polyribosomes supplemented with rat liver pH5 enzyme. 2. Increasing amounts of pH5 enzyme from bovine mammary gland progressively inhibited the incorporation of labelled amino acids into protein by a complete incorporating system from rat liver. Approx. 80% inhibition was observed at a concentration of 2mg. of protein of pH5 enzyme from bovine mammary gland. The inhibitory effect of the bovine pH5 enzyme fraction could not be overcome by the addition of increasing amounts of rat liver pH5 enzyme. 3. Fractionation of bovine pH5 enzyme with ammonium sulphate into four fractions showed that all the fractions inhibited the incorporation of (14)C-labelled amino acids in the rat liver system, but to varying extents. The highest inhibition observed (90%) was exhibited by the 60%-saturated-ammonium sulphate fraction. 4. Heat treatment of bovine pH5 enzyme at various temperatures caused only a partial loss of its inhibitory effect on labelled amino acid incorporation by the rat liver system. Treatment at 105 degrees for 5min. resulted in the bovine pH5 enzyme fraction losing 30% of its inhibitory activity. 5. pH5 enzyme from bovine mammary gland strongly inhibited the charging of rat liver tRNA in the presence of its own pH5 enzymes. 6. The transfer of labelled amino acids from rat liver amino[(14)C]acyl-tRNA to protein in a system containing rat liver polyribosomes and pH5 enzyme was almost completely inhibited by bovine pH5 enzyme at a concentration of 2mg. of protein of the enzyme fraction. 7. One of the inhibitors of various stages of protein synthesis in rat liver present in bovine pH5 enzyme was identified as an active ribonuclease, and the second inhibitor present was shown to be tRNA.     

Autoradiographic study of protein and RNA formation during early development of Drosophila eggs

Permeabilized eggs of Drosophila melanogaster were incubated in tritiated uridine, valine, and phenylalanine. The uptake and incorporation into TCA-insoluble material were measured by scintillation counting. There was very little incorporation of uridine before the blastoderm stage. At the blastoderm stage, the egg took up 2.4 pmoles/hr of uridine and incorporated 0.13 pmoles into RNA (assuming no dilution of specific activity of the precursor). The uptake of amino acids varied with the age of the embryo; virgin eggs synthesized about as much protein as fertilized eggs. Autoradiography of eggs incubated in uridine showed a lack of RNA synthesis in nuclei until the start of the blastoderm formation. The small amount of uridine incorporation before this stage was due to mitochondria. Incorporation of amino acids was uniform in the cytoplasm until the blastoderm; there was no incorporation by yolk granules. Regional difference in labeling appeared during gastrulation. The pole cells did not form RNA during the blastoderm stage, formation started during gastrulation. Protein labeling of the pole cells, on the contrary, was very strong in the blastoderm and early gastrula. These results indicate that the expression of zygotic genome before the blastoderm stage is unlikely.     

In vitro incorporation of labelled amino acids into heart muscle ribosomes at early and late stages of compensatory heart hyperfunction]

The activity of a protein-synthesizing cell-free system from heart muscle was studied at early and late stages of compensatory heart hyperfunction. It was found that the incorporation of amino acids into heart ribosomes during 48 hours after the hyperfunction had been produced, increased by 30% as compared to the control. The incorporation of amino acids into heart ribosomes at the late stage of hyperfunction (after 6 months) was decreased by 46% as compared to the early stages. The addition of homologous tRNA to the cell-free system of protein synthesis under prolonged heart hyperfunction stimulated the incorporation of amino acids into the ribosomes by 40--50%.     

Non-ribosomal biosynthesis of the cyclic octadecapeptide alamethicin.

The biosynthesis of the cyclic octadecapeptide, alamethicin, in a cell-free system of Trichoderma viride has been investigated. It was shown that nucleic acid- and ribo-some-free extracts of Trichoderma viride could catalyze alamethicin biosynthesis. Puromycin, erythromycin and RNAse did not inhibit this synthesis. The Sephadex G 200 filtrate contains a fraction (Kav=0.1) that catalyzes the biosynthesis of alamethicin and shows an ATP-32PPi exchange with 6 of the 8 constituent amino acids of alamethicin. The activated amino acids are bound to the enzyme as aminoacyl adenylates and as thiolesters in a proportion of 1 : 1. About 50% of each bound amino acid could be split off with 7% TCA. The TCA-stable bound amino acid could be split by mercury acetate, hydroxylamine and performic acid. N-ethylmaleimide blocked the binding of 50% of the amino acids to the enzyme, proving that some of the amino acids first bound as aminoacyl adenylates are then transferred into a thiolester bond.     

NATURE OF THE INHIBITION OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS BY ETHIONINE AND AMINO ACID UPTAKE IN EARLY SEA URCHIN EMBRYOS

The inhibition of protein synthesis by ethionine reported previously was found to be apparent, and ethionine inhibited only amino acid uptake like other usual amino acids. Even under such strong inhibition of the uptake, the syntheses of protein and DNA remained almost undiminished. The uptake of amino acid mixture by sea urchin embryos in the early cleavage stage was found to be carried out by active transport, since it was temperature-sensitive and was inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol. The uptake of an amino acid mixture or of single amino acids, e.g., valine, leucine and phenylalanine, was inhibited nonspecifically by an excess amount of other single amino acids added exogenously. Reflecting the inhibition of amino acid uptake, in vivo incorporation of amino acids into the protein fraction was apparently inhibited by excess amounts of other amino acids. As far as tested, the inhibition seems to be nonspecific and competitive for all amino acid species. The uptakes of leucine and phenylalanine were inhibited mutually by competition, with almost the same Km and Ki.     

Formation of Adenosine Cyclic 3′,5′-Phosphate by Nonproliferating Cells and Cell-free Extract of Brevibacterium liquefaciens

The formation of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphate by Brevibacterium liquefaciens ATCC 14929 was studied with the use of nonproliferating cells and cell-free extract. With nonproliferating cells provided by deprivation of sulfate, the formation of this nucleotide was accelerated by adding some amino acids and sugars. Among amino acids tested, alanine and asparagine were most effective. Pentoses were more favorable than hexoses and other sugars. Formation of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphate was observed also with chloramphenicol-treated cells. Experiments on cell-free extract showed that addition of alanine or pyruvate stimulated the formation of adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphate from adenosine-5'-triphosphate. When alanine was added to the cell-free system, shaking of the reaction mixture further increased the amount of the nucleotide, but pyruvate was far more effective than alanine. No synergistic effect of alanine and pyruvate was observed. Some enzyme activity was observed which decomposed adenosine cyclic 3',5'-phosphate, but it was weak as compared with adenyl cyclase activity in the presence of pyruvate. From the results obtained, it appears that pyruvate may act as an activating factor of adenyl cyclase in Brevibacterium liquefaciens.     

THE CELL-FREE SYNTHESIS OF ALKALOID-BINDING PROTEINS IN IMMATURE RAT BRAIN1

Abstract— cell-free amino acid incorporating system from immature rat brain, consisting of ribosomal and soluble fractions, has been investigated for its capacity to incorporate [¹⁴C]amino acids into specific soluble proteins that interact with vinblastine sulfate and colchicine. The soluble ¹⁴C-labeled proteins formed in the cell-free system during incubation were compared with similar soluble proteins from immature rat brain which had been labeled in vivo by the incorporation of ¹⁴C-labeled amino acids. Criteria for the formation of vinblastine-binding, ¹⁴C-labeled proteins were: (1) aggregation of ¹⁴C-labeled soluble protein by one mm -vinblastine sulfate and (2) immunoprecipitation of ¹⁴C-labeled soluble protein by an antiserum against vinblastine sulfate-precipitable material. Criteria for the formation of [³H]colchicine-binding, ¹⁴C-labeled protein were based upon: (1) co-precipitation of the ³H-and ¹⁴C-labeled materials by vinblastine sulfate and (2) the coincidence of ³H- and ¹⁴C-labeled elution peaks from columns of Sephadex G-200, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and isoelectric focusing. Both in the in vitro and in the in vivo system, ¹⁴C-labeled amino acids were incorporated into soluble proteins of the post-microsomal supernatant fraction. Proteins labeled with ¹⁴C-labeled amino acids in vitro and in vivo yielded comparable and qualitatively identical results by the criteria tested, including the formation of immunoprecipitates. In the in vitro system, ¹⁴C-labeled amino acids were incorporated into protein with a molecular weight of approx 120,000, an isoelectric point of 5.3 and with a chromatographic mobility on Sephadex G-200 which is identical to [³H]colchicine-binding protein. The above experimental results are presumptive evidence for the synthesis of vinblastine-binding and colchicine-binding proteins in the in vitro cell-free system.     

Translation of immobilized genetic information by yeast cell-free protein synthesizing system

A cell-free protein-synthesizing system for the purpose of specific genetic information translation was constructed: ribosome, t-RNA, and enzymes extracted from yeast cells were combined with an immobilized mRNA. The soluble fraction mixed with energy sources and amino acids was incubated with the immobilized mRNA such as poly(U), yeast mRNA, and myeloma mRNA to incorporate [(3)H]phenylalanine into polypeptides of de novo synthesis. By supplying amino acids to these protein-synthesizing systems, amino acid incorporation was ascertained. Lower efficiency of the incorporation in the immobilized system than that of the homogeneous system was mainly attributed to the heterogeneous reaction where the mass-transfer process is diffusion limited. Results obtained show the possibility of a system for specific translation of a desired genetic code.     

Fluorescent labeling of cell-free synthesized proteins by incorporation of fluorophore-conjugated nonnatural amino acids

Although fluorescent dyes, such as fluorescein derivatives, have bulky and complex structures, nonnatural amino acids carrying these fluorescein derivatives are acceptable by the Escherichia coli ribosome and are useful for the cotranslational fluorescent labeling of cell-free synthesized proteins. Surprisingly, the incorporation efficiency of nonnatural amino acids carrying fluorescein derivatives into translated proteins depends on the source of the translational machinery used in cell-free protein synthesis. That is, whereas the E. coli ribosome efficiently supported the incorporation of nonnatural amino acids carrying fluorescein derivatives into a protein structure, no detectable fluorescent signal was observed from the protein expressed in the eukaryotic cell-free protein synthesis system performed in the presence of fluorescein-conjugated aminoacylated transfer RNA (tRNA).