Abstract: | In nuclei incubated in vitro with [3H]NAD to promote poly(ADP-ribose) synthesis, about 6% of the polymer synthesized is differentially extracted into cold 5% PCA along with the H1 histone. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the extracts revealed large differences in the mobility of the incorporated radioactivity depending on the source of the nuclei used. With rat mammary tumors, the radioactivity co-migrated with the H1 histone on both acid-urea and SDS-urea gels. In contrast, the labeled polymer from HBL-100 mammary cell nuclei co-electrophoresed with a minor protein component which moved more slowly than H1. With lactating mammary glands, an intermediate profile was seen. The difference in mobility on the gels was found to be due to differences in the chain lengths of the poly(ADP-ribose) attached in the H1 protein. The difference in chain length produced was inversely related to the level of poly(ADP-ribose) degrading activity in the various nuclear preparations. |