Patterns of transfer RNA in normal rat liver and during hepatic carcinogenesis

Differences in leucyl-transfer rna's and synthetase in soybean seedlings

Charged leucyl-transfer RNA (leucyl-tRNA) of soybean cotyledons can be fractionated into six radioactive peaks on a Freon column. Four leucyl-tRNA peaks are observed with the homologous hypocotyl system. Hypocotyl synthetase preparations only slightly acylate the other two leucyl-tRNA's (species 5 and 6). Further, leucyl-tRNA(5 and 6) of the hypocotyl are present in small amounts in comparison to the cotyledon. Therefore, the rate-limiting quantities of synthetase and tRNA(5 and 6) obtained from the hypocotyl prevent the detection of these two species of tRNA when a homologous hypocotyl system is used. To measure the relative amounts of hypocotyl tRNA's, the cotyledon synthetase preparation is employed. Preliminary results show that 6-benzyladenine increases the acylation of leucyl-tRNA(5 and 6) and decreases acylation of tRNA(1) in the hypocotyl. Synthetase preparations from cytokinin-treated plants are not significantly affected.

Lysine transfer RNA2 is the major target for L-ethionine in the rat

Ethionine, a hepatocarcinogen, ethylates macromolecules in vivo especially tRNA of rat liver. When rats were injected with L-[ethyl-3H]ethionine, the tRNA fraction of the liver was found to be labeled. One tRNA with the highest specific activity was purified and identified as lysine-tRNA2.

Methyldeficient mammalian 4s RNA: evidence for L-ethionine-induced inhibition of N6-dimethyladenosine synthesis in rat liver tRNA

The nucleotide composition of 4s RNA from livers of rats fed with a diet containing 0.3% D-ethionine was found to be identical with that from untreated animals. In contrast, one single modified nucleotide was absent in 4s RNA from livers of rats fed with a 0.3% L-ethionine diet. The minor nucleo=tide was also absent in liver 4s RNA from rats fed with a 0.3% L-ethionine diet followed by ten days of normal food. It was identified after dephosphorylation by ultraviolet absorption spectra, cochromatography with authentic material and mass spectra as N(6)-dimethyladenosine. It is concluded that S-adenosylethionine, the primary product of L-ethionine in the liver, causes strong and selective inhibition of the specific RNA-methylase responsible for adenosine to N(6)-dimethyl=adenosine methylation in rat liver 4s RNA. Compared to the strong inhibition of N(6)-dimethyladenosine formation described here, L-ethionine-dependent ethylation of liver 4s RNA is far less efficient. The quantitation of l-methyladenosine, ribothymidine and 3'-terminal adenosine in this 4s RNA as well as its aminoacid acceptor activity is typical for tRNA; hence it may be concluded that N(6)-dimethyladenosine is a component of rat liver tRNA. This may demonstrate the first evidence for the existence of specifically methyl-deficient mammalian tRNA. A possible correlation between the activity of L-ethionine as a liver carcinogen and its ability to induce the formation of methyl-deficient tRNA by selectively inhibiting the synthesis of N(6)-dimethyladenosine on the tRNA level in the same organ is discussed.

Changes in certain aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic Acid synthetase activities in developing pea roots

Tyrosyl-, arginyl-, leucyl-, and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase activities were measured in extracts from three root sections of 3-day-old pea seedlings. The sections 0 to 2, 3 to 7, and 8 to 22 millimeters from the root tip were chosen to represent the regions of cell division, elongation, and maturation, respectively. The specific activity for each aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase was highest in the 0- to 2-millimeter section and lowest in the 8 to 22 millimeter section. The changes in specific activity between the sections, however, varied with the particular synthetase. Tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from each section was fractionated into two activity regions on a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column. Approximately 10, 22, and 44% of the total tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase activity in the 0 to 2, 3 to 7, and 8- to 22-millimeter sections, respectively, were associated with the first tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase region; the remaining activity was located in the second tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase region. Only one activity region for arginyl-tRNA synthetase was detected by diethylaminoethyl cellulose column fractionation.

The Coding Properties of Lysine-accepting Transfer Ribonucleic Acids from Black-eyed Peas

Lysine-accepting transfer RNA from ungerminated and germinated embryo axes of black-eyed peas (Vigna sinensis L. Savi) was fractionated on benzoylated diethylaminoethyl cellulose and reverse phase Freon columns. Cochromatography indicated the presence of two similar lysyl transfer RNA fractions in each tissue. Ribosome binding studies revealed that the larger of the two fractions in each case is specific for the AAG codon, while the smaller one recognizes AAA and AAG. Possible implications of this difference in quantities of isoacceptors in translation of genetic information are discussed.

Isolation of an organ-specific leucyl-tRNA synthetase from soybean seedling

The leucyl-tRNA synthetase activity from cotyledons of 4-day-old soybean seedlings has been fractionated into three components. One of these exclusively acylates two of the six tRNA(Leu) species present in this tissue. The remaining two enzyme fractions charge the other four tRNA(Leu) species equally well. Soybean hypocotyls appear to contain only the last two enzyme fractions.

The fractionation of transfer ribonucleic Acid from roots of pea seedlings

Isoaccepting transfer RNA species for several amino acids were fractionated by reverse phase column chromatography. Transfer RNA from dividing cells of pea (Pisum sativum) root was compared to that from nondividing cells, and no relative quantitative or qualitative differences were noted for the transfer RNA species for leucine, lysine, proline, threonine, methionine, serine, and phenylalanine. However, certain artifactual differences for serine and phenylalanine were noted. Quantitative differences were observed in tyrosyl-transfer RNA's. Ribonuclease action on tRNA did not contribute to the tRNA species observed.

Differences de specificite entre les methylases de myelome et de foie vis-a-vis du tRNA d'E. coliK 12

This paper describes an attempt to find a difference between the patterns of methylation of E. coli tRNA by extracts of two mouse tissues. Two samples of tRNAs, methylated in two separate experiments with extracts of myeloma and of liver in presence of either 14C or 3H S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine, were pooled and fractionated together on a RPC column. The results show a difference in the specificities of the two extracts. Chromatography on DEAE Sephadex suggests that the tRNA Met is methylated by the enzymes on the myeloma, while enzymes from liver react very little, if at all, with that particular tRNA species. Studies have been undertaken in order to find out whether similar differences can also be demonstrated in homologous systems.

Induction of euglena transfer RNA's by light

Exposure of dark-grown, wild-type Euglena gracilis to light induces the formation of at least three new chromatographic species of tRNA. Parallel studies with a bleached mutant (W(3)BUL) of Euglena demonstrate that the induction of these new tRNA species is dependent upon the cell's ability to form chloroplasts and rule out the possibility that the new species arise from an effect of light on the tRNA's per se.

Differences in the transfer RNA's of normal liver and Novikoff hepatoma

-A comparison of the elution profiles of 18 aminoacyl-tRNA's from Novikoff hepatoma with those from normal liver on a methylated albuminkieselguhr column revealed the occurrence of new species of tRNA for histidine, tyrosine, and asparagine in the hepatoma. In addition, the hepatoma tRNA's for arginine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, serine, alanine, and tryptophan eluted at a higher salt concentration than the corresponding tRNA's of normal liver. The remaining eight amino acids did not show any significant differences in the elution profiles.

The effect of tRNA concentration on the rate of protein synthesis

Two in vitro protein-synthesizing systems derived from E. coli have been utilized to demonstrate that the concentration of a tRNA species can regulate the rate of translation of a messenger RNA. (a) The rate of poly-U-directed C(14)-phenylalanine incorporation into protein is stimulated by concentrations of tRNA(Phe) from 1.5 x 10(-8) M to 3.0 x 10(-6) M, the latter representing a tRNA(Phe)/70S ribosome ratio of 7. (b) The rate of translation of poly A,G in a S-30 protein-synthesizing system derived from E. coli is limited by the amount of tRNA(Arg) recognizing the codewords AGA and AGG present in the extract. Polypeptide synthesis can be stimulated in direct proportion to the amount of this tRNA(Arg) species added to the reaction mixture. A mechanism for regulating the rate of protein synthesis at the translational level may be the slowing of polypeptide chain propagation at certain codons due to the presence of rate-limiting tRNA species.

Nitrosamine-induced carcinogenesis. The alklylation of nucleic acids of the rat by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, dimethylnitrosamine, dimethyl sulphate and methyl methanesulphonate

1. N[(14)C]-Methyl-N-nitrosourea, [(14)C]dimethylnitrosamine, [(14)C]dimethyl sulphate and [(14)C]methyl methanesulphonate were injected into rats, and nucleic acids were isolated from several organs after various time-intervals. Radioactivity was detected in DNA and RNA, partly in major base components and partly as the methylated base, 7-methylguanine. 2. No 7-methylguanine was detected in liver DNA from normal untreated rats. 3. The specific radioactivity of 7-methylguanine isolated from DNA prepared from rats treated with [(14)C]dimethylnitrosamine was virtually the same as that of the dimethylnitrosamine injected. 4. The degree of methylation of RNA and DNA produced in various organs by each compound was determined, and expressed as a percentage of guanine residues converted into 7-methylguanine. With dimethylnitrosamine both nucleic acids were considerably more highly methylated in the liver (RNA, about 1% of guanine residues methylated; DNA, about 0.6% of guanine residues methylated) than in the other organs. Kidney nucleic acids were methylated to about one-tenth of the extent of those in the liver, lung showed slightly lower values and the other organs only very low values. N-Methyl-N-nitrosourea methylated nucleic acids to about the same extent in all the organs studied, the amount being about the same as that in the kidney after treatment with dimethylnitrosamine. In each case the RNA was more highly methylated than the DNA. Methyl methanesulphonate methylated the nucleic acids in several organs to about the same extent as N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, but the DNA was more highly methylated than the RNA. Dimethyl sulphate, even in toxic doses, gave considerably less methylation than N-methyl-N-nitrosourea in all the organs studied, the greatest methylation being in the brain. 5. The rate of removal of 7-methylguanine from DNA of kidneys from rats treated with dimethylnitrosamine was compared with the rate after treatment of rats with methyl methanesulphonate. No striking difference was found. 6. The results are discussed in connexion with the organ distribution of tumours induced by the compounds under study and in relation to the possible importance of alkylation of cellular components for the induction of cancer.