An excess of the small ribosomal subunits and a higher rate of turnover of the 60 S than of the 40 S ribosomal subunits in L cells grown in suspension culture

Quantitating protein synthesis, degradation, and endogenous antigen processing

Using L929 cells, we quantitated the macroeconomics of protein synthesis and degradation and the microeconomics of producing MHC class I associated peptides from viral translation products. To maintain a content of 2.6 x 10(9) proteins, each cell's 6 x 10(6) ribosomes produce 4 x 10(6) proteins min(-1). Each of the cell's 8 x 10(5) proteasomes degrades 2.5 substrates min(-1), creating one MHC class I-peptide complex for each 500-3000 viral translation products degraded. The efficiency of complex formation is similar in dendritic cells and macrophages, which play a critical role in activating T cells in vivo. Proteasomes create antigenic peptides at different efficiencies from two distinct substrate pools: rapidly degraded newly synthesized proteins that clearly represent defective ribosomal products (DRiPs) and a less rapidly degraded pool in which DRiPs may also predominate.

Turnover of ribosomal 28S and 18S rRNA during rat liver regeneration

The turnover of 28S and 18S rRNA was studied in the course of 12 d after partial hepatectomy, including the proliferative (1st to 5th d) and post-proliferative (6th to 12th d) phases of liver regeneration. Turnover data, as the day-to-day rates of synthesis and degradation of 28S and 18S rRNA, were obtained by employing a suitable experimental procedure for the estimation of the increase of the amount of rRNA in the regenerating liver. It was found that 28S and 18S rRNA are accumulated into the cytoplasm and degraded at identical rates both in the proliferative and post-proliferative phases. The turnover of both rRNA moieties is markedly slower during the first 3 d of liver regeneration.

Evidence that free polysomes are not the precursors of membrane-bound polysomes in rat liver

We tested, in rat liver, the postulate that free polysomes were precursors of membrane-bound polysomes. Three methods were used to isolate free and membrane-bound ribosomes from either post-nuclear or post-mitochondrial supernatants of rat liver. Isolation and quantitation of 28 S and 18 S rRNA allowed determination of the 40 S and 60 S subunit composition of free and membrane-bound ribosomal populations, while pulse labeling of 28 S and 18 S rRNA with [6-14C) orotic acid and inorganic (32P] phosphate allowed assessment of relative rates of subunit renewal. Throughout the extra-nuclear compartment, 40 S and 60 S subunits were present in essentially equal numbers, but, free ribosomes contained a stoichiometric excess of 40 S subunits, while membrane-bound ribosomes contained a complementary excess of 60 S subunits. Experiments with labeled precursors showed that throughout the extra-nuclear compartment, 40 S and 60 S subunits accumulated isotopes at essentially equal rates, however, free ribosomes accumulated isotopes faster than membrane-bound ribosomes. Among free ribosomes or polysomes, 40 S subunits accumulated isotopes faster than 60 S subunits, but, this relationship was not seen among membrane-bound ribosomes. Here, 40 S subunits accumulated isotope more slowly than 60 S subunits. This distribution of labeled precursors does not support the postulate that free polysomes are precursors of membrane-bound polysomes, but, these data suggest that membrane-bound polysomes could be precursors of free polysomes.

Variation in microsomal subfractions obtained from normal animal tissues and transformed cells following cell disruption by nitrogen cavitation

Microsomal membranes were obtained from MPC-11 cells, L-cells, Krebs II ascites cells and various normal animal tissues following cell disruption by nitrogen cavitation. Membrane preparations were applied to discontinuous sucrose gradients designed to separate three fractions--heavy rough (HR), light rough (LR) and smooth (S) microsomes. In each of the transformed cell lines all three fractions were found whilst in the normal tissues tested the HR fraction was absent. Of the normal tissues liver and pancreas were rich in both LR and S microsomes, the presence of large amounts of LR indicating a rich protein synthesizing activity on membrane-bound polysomes. Kidney also contained appreciable LR but much less than both liver and pancreas. Both heart and lung contained virtually only S microsomal material--a reflection of low protein synthetic activity on membrane-bound polysomes. Attempts to promote the appearance of the HR fraction in liver, kidney and pancreas by incubation in tissue culture medium, or, in the case of pancreas, by cholecystokinin/pancreozymin/secretin stimulation both in vivo and in vitro were unsuccessful.

Alterations in the processing of rat-liver ribosomal RNA caused by cycloheximide inhibition of protein synthesis

Cycloheximide given in vivo at low doses (2--5 mg/kg body weight) causes within 30 min a complete inhibition of protein synthesis in rat liver. The labelling of nuclear proteint is also strongly inhibited. Under these conditions, the amount of nucleolar 45-S pre-rRNA and its [14C]-orotate labelling remain unaffected for at least 4 h. These results show that initially the rates of synthesis and processing of 45-S pre-rRNA are not appreciably altered. On the other hand, drastic alterations in the 45-S pre-rRNA processing pathways occur at the early stages of cycloheximide action. Formation of 18-S rRNA is abolished and that of 28S rRNA is reduced to about half the level in control rats. This dichotomy in the production of the two ribosomal particles may be correlated with a block in the formation of 41-S and 21-S pre-rRNA. Generation of 36-S and 32-S pre-rRNA is still taking place, but the rate of their processing to nucleolar 28-S rRNA is decreased, thus causing the accumulation of these two pre-rRNA species. In parallel, processing of 45-S pre-rRNA to an aberrant 39-S rRNA species is markedly enhanced. The results obtained show that the channelling of nucleolar pre-rRNA along alternative processing pathways is under stringent control by the continuous supply of critical protein(s).

The synthesis and degradation of presumptive messenger RNA in cultured mouse leukemia cells during the inhibition of protein synthesis

RNA synthesis in mouse leukemia L5178Y cells was inhibited depending upon the time of treatment by blasticidin S or by ricin, which inhibits specifically protein synthesis. When blasticidin S or ricin blocked protein synthesis by more than 90% of the control, marked accumulation of monosome was accompanied by the decrease of pulse-labeled RNA (20% of that in the control) in the polysomes and monosome fraction. The size distribution of pulse-labeled RNA among polysomal fractions including monosome obtained from the cells treated with either blasticidin S, ricin of L-asparaginase showed that the size of presumptive mRNA was shifted from 18 S to 9--10 S. TReatment of a blasticidin S-resistant (Bla-R) subline derived from L5178Y cells (Kuwano, M., Matsui, K., Takenaka, K., Akiyama, S. and Endo, H. (1977) Int. J. Cancer 20, 296--302) with L-asparaginase or ricin induced smaller size (9--10 S) RNA, but treatment of Bla-R cells with blasticidin S did not. Such shorter RNA fragments could not be observed even when cellular protein synthesis was inhibited by treatment for short time with blasticidin S (40--80% of the control activity). Smaller RNA fragments accumulated after drastic inhibition of protein synthesis were composed of 74% of polyadenylate sequence lacking poly(A)(-)RNA with peak of approx. 10 S and 26% of polyadenylate sequence containing poly(A)(+)RNA with a peak of 18 S, whereas cytoplasmic polysomal RNA of the control contained 46% poly(A)(+) with a peak of 18 S and 54% poly(A)(-)RNA with a 10--18 S peak. Cytoplasmic poly(A)(+)RNA degraded biphasically with half-lives of approx. 2 h and 8--10 h in exponentially growing mouse cells. However, in degradation of poly(A)(+)RNA molecules being formed in the cells pretreated with blasticidin S for 3 h, the rapid phase of decay with a half-life of approx. 2 h was interrupted by successively appearing poly(A)(+)RNA with a longer half-life of 8--10 h in cytoplasm. However, when the cells were pretreated with blasticidin S for 6 h, there appeared no poly(A)(+)RNA population with the rapid-decay in cytoplasm.

Increase in the ratio of 18S RNA to 28S RNA in the cytoplasm of mouse tissues during aging

The possibility of alterations in cytoplasmic RNA in mouse liver, kidney and brain during aging was investigated. The cytoplasmic RNAs in these organs gave similar profiles of optical density at 260 nm with three major peaks at 28S, 18S and 4S on sucrose gradient centrifugation. However, the ratio of the amounts of 18S and 28S RNA increased significantly with age in the brain and liver. The polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic patterns of extracts of the three tissues under both native and denaturing conditions were nearly identical regardless of the age of the animals. Since most of the minor components separated on gels were probably in vivo degradation products of ribosomal RNA, these results suggest that the extent of apparent and hidden breaks in ribosomal RNA does not change during aging.