The determination of nucleic acids

Polyamine biogenesis in the rat mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation

Polyamines and RNA accumulate in the rat mammary gland during pregnancy, but the major increases occur after parturition. Therefore the major increases occur after the gland has obtained its maximal complement of epithelial cells. During lactation, the spermidine concentration rises above 5mm and RNA content in the lactating mammary gland reaches a value 16 times that of the unstimulated mammary gland. The ratio of spermidine/spermine, an increase of which initially signals an elevation in biosynthetic activity, is near 1 in the normal mammary gland and is greater than 10 in the lactating mammary gland. Putrescine concentration is very low during the entire course of mammary-gland development, with the exception of early pregnancy. The low putrescine concentration probably reflects the very rapid conversion of putrescine into spermidine. Both ornithine decarboxylase, the enzyme that synthesizes putrescine, and putrescine-stimulated S-adenosyl-l-methionine decarboxylase, the enzyme that synthesizes spermidine, increase in activity during middle and late pregnancy; during lactation, both enzyme activities are elevated until the 21st day of lactation, and then decline. These declines are concomitant with involution. Also, it was found that the amount of ribonuclease activity in the mammary gland was very high during lactation, almost double that in the gland during pregnancy.

Further studies on the stimulation of protein synthesis in androgen-dependent tissues by testosterone

1. By using centrifugation through a discontinuous sucrose gradient, four microsomal fractions are obtained from the prostate gland. 2. Administration of androgens to castrated rats stimulates protein synthesis in all fractions, particularly in the heavy rough fraction. 3. Androgens also increase the content of protein, RNA and phospholipid in the heavy rough fraction. 4. Time-course experiments in vivo show that androgens induce a rapid increase in the synthesis of ribosomal precursor RNA preceding the synthesis of new microsomal fraction and the increase in protein synthesis.

Effect of hexachlorobenzene on haem synthesis

Several drugs are known to induce the liver microsomal mixed-function oxidase system when administered in vivo or even in vitro in cell culture. A sequence of events has been suggested in which the drug is visualized to induce delta-aminolaevulinate synthetase, the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the haem-biosynthetic pathway, which is followed by enhanced haem synthesis and cytochrome P-450 content, facilitating the increase in the drug-metabolizing activity of the liver microsomal fraction. The present studies show that the fungicide hexachlorobenzene, when administered to female rats, can lead to enhanced amounts and rate of synthesis of cytochrome P-450 under conditions when the rate of total haem synthesis has not appreciably altered. The subsequent increase in the rate of total haem synthesis as well as the initial increase in amounts of cytochrome P-450 are brought about under conditions when delta-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity remains constant. However, manifestation of porphyria due to prolonged drug administration is accompanied by a twofold increase in delta-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity. The increase in enzyme activity appears to be due to a decreased degradation rate of the enzyme.

Fluorometric determination of deoxyribonucleic acid in bacteria with ethidium bromide

A simple, sensitive, and rapid method is presented for the determination of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. It is based upon the fluorometric determination of DNA with ethidium bromide after alkaline digestion of the bacteria to hydrolyze the interfering ribonucleic acid. The assay takes less than 2 hr. Its sensitivity is at least 0.2 mug of DNA in a final solution of 4 ml and it uses commonly available filter or double monochromator fluorometers. Judicious choice of light source and filters allows an additional 10-fold increase in sensitivity with a filter fluorometer. Turbidity caused by bacteria or insoluble polysaccharides does not interfere with the fluorescence measurements. There was no significant difference between the results obtained with this method and those obtained with the indole and diphenylamine methods when these assays were applied to Escherichia coli and sucrose- or glucose-grown Streptococcus mutans. The method was also tested by determining the specific growth rate of E. coli. This new procedure should be especially useful for the determination of bacterial DNA in dilute suspensions and for the estimation of bacterial growth or DNA replication where more conventional methods are not applicable or sensitive enough.

Uptake of amino acids and nucleic acid precursors by regenerating rat liver

1. At 0.5-1.0h after partial hepatectomy the intracellular acid-soluble fraction of rat liver took up twice as much radioactivity from [(3)H]orotic acid, [(3)H]uridine and [(3)H]thymidine as did similar fractions from sham-operated animals. This increase in penetration was not prevented by adrenalectomy or actinomycin, both of which decreased precursor uptake into nuclear RNA at this time. The increase in entry was still shown by thymidine at 22h after operation, at the height of the S period. Adenine penetration was not increased 1h after partial hepatectomy. 2. Plasma concentrations of ornithine and possibly methionine, tyrosine and lysine were raised 1.5h after partial hepatectomy. [(3)H]Lysine entry into regenerating liver at this time was increased by 60%; [(3)H]valine uptake was unaffected. Intracellular amounts of tyrosine, phenylalanine and ornithine in the liver were also increased. 3. The relation of these events to the start of liver regeneration is discussed.

Studies on the oestrogen sulphatase and arylsulphatase C activities of rat liver

Detailed studies on the hydrolysis of p-acetylphenyl sulphate and oestrone sulphate by rat liver preparations strongly indicate that arylsulphatase C and oestrogen sulphatase are the same enzyme. Liver is the richest source of both enzymes, which have identical intracellular distributions, being localized mainly in the microsomal fraction. Low oestrogen sulphatase and arylsulphatase C activities were present in foetal liver and these increased at a similar rate after birth. The activities of the enzymes in an ethionine-induced hepatoma were similarly low. Results of heat inactivation, mixed-substrate and competitive-inhibition experiments employing liver microsomal fractions were also consistent with one enzyme being involved. Oestradiol-17beta 3-sulphate was also hydrolysed by microsomal preparations and activity towards both this substrate and oestrone sulphate was inhibited by oestrone and oestradiol-17beta. The physiological significance of this inhibition is discussed.

Effect of a single dose of dimethylnitrosamine on biosynthesis of nucleic acid and protein in rat liver and kidney

1. Administration of a single dose of dimethylnitrosamine to rats temporarily fed on a protein-deficient diet causes a high incidence of kidney tumours. The effect of such a dose of dimethylnitrosamine (40mg/kg body wt.) on metabolism of nucleic acids and protein in rat liver and kidneys was examined during the week immediately after administration. 2. Incorporation of [(14)C]leucine and [(14)C]orotate into hepatic macromolecules was inhibited within 5h of injection of dimethylnitrosamine, and did not recover for at least 5 days. Interpretation of these results is complicated by the concomitant extensive hepatic necrosis. 3. Renal RNA synthesis was assayed by incorporation of [(14)C]orotate in vivo and measurement of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity in vitro. Both systems indicate biphasic inhibition; minimal activity was recorded 9h and 3 days after treatment. Changes in incorporation of [(14)C]leucine into renal protein were similar but less marked. 4. Sucrose-density-gradient analysis of renal cytoplasmic RNA indicated increased synthesis of rRNA 24h after injection of the nitrosamine. The rate of loss of radioactivity from kidney ribosomes pre-labelled with [(14)C]orotate was not modified by dimethylnitrosamine. 5. Dimethylnitrosamine increased incorporation of [(3)H]-thymidine into renal DNA. The three distinct periods of stimulated synthesis observed are discussed, with particular reference to recently published morphological studies of the sequential development of kidney tumours induced by dimethylnitrosamine in protein-depleted rats.

Plasma and phagosome membranes of Acanthamoeba castellanii

Plasma membranes were isolated from the ameba Acanthamoeba castellanii by low-speed velocity centrifugation followed by equilibrium centrifugation in a sucrose gradient. The isolated membranes had a high ratio of sterol to phospholipid (0.98 moles/mole) and of phospholipid to protein (0.43 mg/mg). The plasma membranes had very low concentrations of DNA, RNA, lipid inositol, and glycerides. Glycolipids and glycoproteins were enriched in the plasma membranes relative to their concentrations in the whole cell. The plasma membranes were also judged to be of high purity by the absence, or very low level, of enzymatic activities considered to be indicative of other cell membranes, and by electron microscope examination. Alkaline phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase activities were enriched in the plasma membranes 13-fold relative to the whole homogenate and had higher specific activities in the plasma membranes than in any other cell fractions. A Mg(++) adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) was enriched sixfold in the plasma membranes relative to the whole homogenate. The phospholipids of the plasma membranes contained more phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine and less phosphatidylcholine than did the phospholipids of the whole cells. There were differences in the fatty acid compositions of corresponding phospholipids in the plasma membranes and whole cells but no difference in the ratios of total saturated to unsaturated fatty acids. The membranes of phagosomes isolated from amebae that had ingested polystyrene latex had essentially the same phospholipid, sterol, and enzymatic composition as plasma membranes.

Cortisone stimulation of nucleolar RNA polymerase activity

Four hours after intraperitoneal injection of cortisone acetate into rats, hepatic nuclei had an enhanced ability to incorporate labeled nucleoside triphosphates into RNA in vitro. When the nuclei were further fractionated into nucleolar and extranucleolar (nucleoplasmic) fractions, it was found that this hormonal effect was localized exclusively in the nucleolar fraction. This increased transcriptive activity potentially could be due to either (a) an increased availability of the DNA template or (b) an increase in the amount or catalytic efficiency of the RNA polymerase, or both. In order to distinguish between these possibilities, actinomycin D was used to inhibit the template function of endogenous nucleolar DNA and a synthetic template, polydeoxycytidylate, which is insensitive to actinomycin D and codes for polyriboguanylate synthesis, was used to evaluate RNA polymerase activity. These studies indicate that the increased RNA synthesis evident in nucleoli isolated from livers of rats four hours after cortisone treatment is largely a consequence of elevated levels of RNA polymerase.

Changes in histone phosphorylation and associated early metabolic events in pig lymphocyte cultures transformed by phytohaemagglutinin or 6-N,2'-O-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate

1. Pig lymphocytes were transformed by dibutyryl cyclic AMP (6-N,2'-O-dibutyryladenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate) at concentrations of 0.01-0.1mum. The pattern of incorporation of label from [5-(3)H]uridine and [6-(3)H]thymidine into RNA and DNA respectively was identical with that obtained with unpurified phytohaemagglutinin. 2. Chlorpromazine (0.1mum) prevented the stimulation of [5-(3)H]uridine incorporation into RNA by phytohaemagglutinin, but only slightly lowered the lymphocyte response to dibutyryl cyclic AMP. 3. An increase in the size and specific radioactivity of the intracellular P(i) pool was found immediately after stimulation by both phytohaemagglutinin and dibutyryl cyclic AMP. This was followed after some 30min by a rise in the specific radioactivity and concentration of ATP. 4. There was an immediate increase in the specific radioactivity of phosphate groups of histones; by about 45min after stimulation only the histones remaining after extraction of histone fraction F1 continued to incorporate (32)P from [(32)P]P(i). 5. Histone kinase activity increased in the first 30min after stimulation; subsequently histone F1 kinase activity decreased, but activity with the other histones as substrate continued to increase for a further 30min. Kinase activation was effected by cyclic AMP (adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate). 6. Histone phosphatase activity behaved similarly to that of the kinase.

Kinetics of RNA synthesis in toad bladder epithelium: action of aldosterone during the latent period

Processing of RNA in the toad bladder was analyzed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis to determine whether aldosterone causes any changes in the 1 hr before it potentiates transport of sodium ion. No change was found in the quantity or in the specific activity of bulk RNA labeled with uridine-5-(3)H. In vivo and in vitro with either uridine-5-(3)H or with methionine-(methyl)-(3)H as precursors, processing of RNA was extremely slow. Heterodisperse RNA was obvious after 30 min of continuous labeling, but labeling of the 40S precursor of ribosomal RNA was not apparent for 60 min. Labeling of mature 28S and 18S RNA first became apparent after 8 hr. approximately 7S RNA was the principal fastmigrating species labeled at 30 min, and 4S RNA was not heavily labeled until 1 hr. Aldosterone (5 x 10(-7) mole/liter) produced no changes. If care were not taken to inhibit metabolism of native bacteria colonizing the bladder, bacterial RNA of high specific activity predominated. We conclude that RNA metabolism in the toad bladder is extraordinarily slow, that a major acceleration of de novo synthesis in response to physiologic doses of aldosterone was not demonstrable, and that some reports to the contrary may have been influenced by artifacts from bacterial RNA metabolism. Earlier evidence for obligatory alterations in RNA metabolism during the latent period is not strong.

Rate of ribosome production in Bacillus licheniformis

The ribosome content of exponential-phase cells of Bacillus licheniformis was measured at three different growth rates. The average number of ribosomes per cell was about 92,000, 34,400, or 12,500 70S equivalents in balanced cultures growing at 37 C with generation times of 35, 60, and 120 min, respectively. Since the ribosomal particles were shown to be metabolically stable in exponentially growing cells, these figures implicate large differences in the quantity of ribosomes synthesized per unit of time in an individual cell grown under the various conditions. Nevertheless, the time required for the biosynthesis of a single 50S subunit was constant (about 10 min) and independent of the specific growth rate of the cell (within the limits studied). These results show that ribosome production is not regulated by control of the rate of assemblage of individual ribosomes, but rather by control of the number of the ribosomes in manufacture at a time.

Cytoplasmic effects of cortisol in liver

1. The time-course of the induction by cortisol of tryptophan pyrrolase in mouse liver was established. 2. The kinetics of labelling of mouse liver polyribosomes and the distribution of radioactivity in the various sizes of polyribosomes were investigated. It is concluded that the major part of the messenger RNA is monocistronic. 3. Cortisol administered to adrenalectomized mice stimulates in parallel the ability of ribosomes and polyribosomes, both free and bound, to incorporate amino acids into protein. 4. This stimulation does not appear to affect in a selective manner particular regions of the gradients of polyribosomes. 5. Administration of cortisol enhances the ability of the denser fraction of the rough microsomes to incorporate labelled amino acids. Adrenalectomy has minor effects on the pool sizes and specific radioactivities of liver amino acids which are counteracted by the hormone. However, these appear insufficient to influence the changes observed. 6. Adrenalectomy causes an increase in the percentage of ribosomes existing as polyribosomes and a fall in the proportion bound to the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. After treatment of these animals with cortisol there is a marked increase in the proportion of bound ribosomes. 7. The influence of cortisol on the membranous components of liver cytoplasm is discussed.