scholarly journals SPECIFIC PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION

1972 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Paul ◽  
M. R. Goldsmith ◽  
J. R. Hunsley ◽  
F. C. Kafatos

Silkmoth follicles, arranged in a precise developmental sequence within the ovariole, yield pure and uniform populations of follicular epithelial cells highly differentiated for synthesis of the proteinaceous eggshell (chorion). These cells can be maintained and labeled efficiently in organ culture; their in vitro (and cell free) protein synthetic activity reflects their activity in vivo. During differentiation the cells undergo dramatic changes in protein synthesis. For 2 days the cells are devoted almost exclusively to production of distinctive chorion proteins of low molecular weight and of unusual amino acid composition. Each protein has its own characteristic developmental kinetics of synthesis. Each is synthesized as a separate polypeptide, apparently on monocistronic messenger RNA (mRNA), and thus reflects the expression of a distinct gene. The rapid changes in this tissue do not result from corresponding changes in translational efficiency. Thus, the peptide chain elongation rate is comparable for chorion and for proteins synthesized at earlier developmental stages (1.3–1.9 amino acids/sec); moreover, the spacing of ribosomes on chorion mRNA (30–37 codons per ribosome) is similar to that encountered in other eukaryotic systems.

1979 ◽  
Vol 184 (3) ◽  
pp. 663-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Nakano ◽  
H Hara

The validity of a new technique was examined for estimating the protein-synthetic activity of various tissues in vivo. The basic assumption underlying the method is that the number of peptide chains growing on each active ribosome would increase as the protein-synthetic activity of each tissue increases. The principle of the procedure, which was devised originally by Wool & Kurihara [(1967) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 58, 2401-2407] to determine in vitro the number of functional ribosomes in skeletal muscle, is as follows. Puromycin is known to bind easily to the C-terminal end of the growing peptide on ribosomes and thus stop further chain elongation. Hence, if the number of puromycin molecules attached to the nascent peptide is determined by using radioactive puromycin as a tracer, one can estimate the number of growing peptides, i.e. the activity of tissue protein synthesis. By using this technique, it is shown that both starvation and the feeding of a protein-free diet caused marked decreases in the relative rate of formation of peptidyl-puromycin, i.e. activity of protein synthesis in liver, skeletal muscle, heart, spleen, testis, lung, kidney and intestine.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Saleem ◽  
Burr G. Atkinson

Recent in vivo and in vitro studies with polyribosomes from the tail muscle of T3-treated tadpoles establish that this hormone initiates a regulating effect on tadpole tail muscle which operates at the translational level and results in an overall decreased rate of protein synthesis (Saleem, M. &Atkinson, B. G. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 1378–1384). This hormone-induced decrease in the rate of protein synthesis is partially, if not wholly, due to the presence of a sarcoplasmic factor(s) inhibiting ribosomal translational efficiency. This research employs the use of a reconstituted, cell-free polypeptide synthesizing system as a means to substantiate the presence of an inhibitor and further elucidate the mechanism by which this inhibitory factor(s) depresses protein synthesis. The results of this study further demonstrate the presence of an inhibitor of protein synthesis in the tail muscle sarcoplasm of T3-treated tadpoles and suggest that this depressed synthetic activity results from an interaction of the inhibitor with ribosomal or polyribosomal constituents.


Development ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-221
Author(s):  
B. R. A. O'Brien

The embryo provides a sequence of developmental stages in which proteins both structural and enzymatic appear or become detectable for the first time in a restricted group of dividing cells. The cells or tissues can be maintained in vitro for a period that may precede and include the synthesis of a specific ‘cytoplasmic’ protein. In this way systems of protein synthesis within the cells of higher organisms can be studied during those stages in which current hypotheses suggest that some structural code is passed on from the DNA of the nucleus to the cytoplasm where the synthesis of the protein becomes maximal. Acellular preparations have contributed much to the elucidation of protein synthesis, but it is doubtful whether actual net synthesis has been obtained in systems less complex than the ‘protoplast’ developed by Spiegelman (1957). In order to study the synthesis of a specific protein it seems necessary at this stage to use whole cells.


1975 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-446
Author(s):  
M. J. Wells ◽  
R. K. O'Dor ◽  
S. K. Buckley

1. Protein synthesis occurs at a high rate in the ovaries of maturing Octopus vulgaris and can be measured from the incorporation of [14C]leucine in vivo and in isolated groups of eggs in vitro. 2. Removal of the optic glands in vivo 1--3 days prior to testing markedly reduces amino acid incorporation in vivo or in vitro. After 5 days in vivo incorporation stops. 3. The rate of incorporation in vitro is increased by the addition of optic gland extract. 4. Analysis of the kinetics of leucine uptake and incorporation in vitro indicates that the hormone has an effect on the inward transport of leucine which is independent of its action on protein synthesis. 5. Electron-microscope studies of the follicle cells and ova show that the former are the site of protein synthesis. 6. Changes in either uptake or incorporation into protein by the follicle cells can be used as a qualitative biolobical assay for the optic gland hormone. Uptake is very easy to measure but incorporation is the more sensitive parameter. Either is potentially suitable as a quantitative assay for this and perhaps also for other molluscan gonadotropins.


1992 ◽  
Vol 262 (2) ◽  
pp. C445-C452 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. Vary ◽  
S. R. Kimball

The regulation of protein synthesis was determined in livers from control, sterile inflammatory, and septic animals. Total liver protein was increased in both sterile inflammation and sepsis. The rate of protein synthesis in vivo was measured by the incorporation of [3H]phenylalanine into liver proteins in a chronic (5 day) intra-abdominal abscess model. Both sterile inflammation and sepsis increased total hepatic protein synthesis approximately twofold. Perfused liver studies demonstrated that the increased protein synthesis rate in vivo resulted from a stimulation in the synthesis of both secreted and nonsecreted proteins. The total hepatic RNA content was increased 40% only in sterile inflammation, whereas the translational efficiency was increased twofold only in sepsis. The increase in translational efficiency was accompanied by decreases in the amount of free 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits in sepsis. Rates of peptide-chain elongation in vivo were increased 40% in both sterile inflammation and sepsis. These results demonstrate that sepsis induces changes in the regulation of hepatic protein synthesis that are independent of the general inflammatory response. In sterile inflammation, the increase in protein synthesis occurs by a combination of increased capacity and translational efficiency, while in sepsis, the mechanism responsible for accelerated protein synthesis is an increased translational efficiency.


1976 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Wilson ◽  
Eugene Spaziani

ABSTRACT Pigmentation of the scrotum of the black-pelted rat, as expressed through melanocyte melanogenic activity, is controlled by androgens. Castration decreased in vitro incorporation of [14C] tyrosine into melanin. Testosterone pre-treatment for 4 days increased melanin radioactivity over castrate controls; the increment in vitro was prevented by an inhibitor of protein synthesis (cycloheximide) added to the incubation. However, cycloheximide only partially blocked melanin synthesis when added to tissue from animals hormone treated for 6 days in vivo, and was ineffective in tissue from intacts. Bulk protein synthesis in vitro (incorporation of [14C] tyrosine or -leucine) was not affected by castration or testosterone treatment but was uniformly inhibited by cycloheximide. The data suggest that new synthesis of specific protein in vitro was necessary for initial hormone-stimulation of melanogenesis, but with longer exposure to hormone sufficient protein was pre-synthetized in vivo to permit melanogenesis during incubation with the inhibitor. Radioautographs of epidermis incubated with [14C] tyrosine showed grains concentrated over macromolecular aggregates in melanocytes, a pattern not altered by cycloheximide. Though available for incorporation into general tissue protein. [14C] tyrosine was apparently incorporated preferentially into melanin by melanocytes. DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) added to incubations in cofactor amounts did not affect decreased melanin synthesis after castration and appears, therefore, not to be rate limiting in that decrease. Tissue uptake of free [14C] tyrosine or — leucine during incubation was lower than normal in castrate epidermis; uptake was elevated by testosterone treatment. Concentrations appeared sufficient in all preparations to suggest that availability is not rate limiting for synthesis of melanin or protein; however, a possible influence on amino acid permeability for melanocytes remains undetermined. Tyrosinase activity was present in both particulate and cytosol fractions of epidermis but decreased significantly after castration only in the cytosol. Testosterone increased particulate activity after 4 days and soluble activity after 9 days of treatment. These and findings above are consistent with a model that tyrosinase is synthesized and incorporated into melanosome structure within 4 days testosterone treatment; with longer treatment synthesis may then exceed that required for melanosome assembly and tyrosinase appears in the soluble milieu.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
M. Clemente ◽  
A. T. Palasz ◽  
J. de La Fuente ◽  
P. Lonergan ◽  
A. Gutierrez-Adan ◽  
...  

Hyaluronan (HA), which progressively increases during embryogenesis, is a glycosaminoglycan that plays a major role in oocyte/embryo development (Fenderson et al. 1993 Differentiation 54, 85–95). One of the main functions of HA is to participate in the cell proliferation and migration that are controlled by HA receptors, RHAMM and C44, and by the presence of different HA synthases, Has1, Has2, and Has3. All have very distinctive features and functions at different stages of embryo development. The objective of this study was to determine the relative mRNA abundance of HA receptors and synthases in Day 7 and 13 bovine embryos derived in vitro or in vivo. In vitro embryos were produced by standard oocyte maturation and fertilization procedures. Presumptive zygotes were cultured in groups of 25 in 25-μL droplets of synthetic oviduct fluid supplemented with 5% FCS at 39°C, 5% CO2, and 5%O2 with maximum humidity. In vivo blastocysts were collected from superovulated heifers on Day 7 (estrus = Day 0) by uterine flushing and on Day 13 immediately after slaughter by flushing the dissected reproductive tracts. All embryos were frozen in LN2 and stored at –80°C for mRNA extraction. Quantification of transcripts for RHAMM and CD44 receptors and Has2 and Has3 synthases was performed on groups of ten Day 7 blastocysts (3 groups for in vivo or in vitro) and individual Day 13 embryos (7 embryos in vivo or in vitro) by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Data on differences in transcript abundance were analyzed by ANOVA. The relative abundance of the Has2 and Has3 synthases was similar between in vivo and in vitro embryos, irrespective of their developmental stage. The quantity of CD44 was significantly higher in in vitro compared with in vivo embryos only on Day 7. However, the quantity of RHAMM receptor was higher on Day 13 in in vitro compared with in vivo embryos. When the comparison was done between developmental stages (Day 7 v. Day 13) for in vivo and in vitro embryos, we found that in vivo-produced Day 7 blastocysts expressed significantly more RHAMM receptor than embryos on Day 13. The reverse pattern of expression was shown for CD44 receptor. For in vitro embryos, the only difference observed was for Has3, which was up-regulated on Day 13 compared with Day 7 embryos. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates, for the first time, developmental changes in the abundance of RHAMM and CD44 receptor mRNA and Has2 and Has3 synthase mRNA in in vivo and in vitro bovine-derived embryos on Day 7 and 13. We believe that our results will provide new insight into the potential role of this intriguing multifunctional molecule in bovine early embryo development.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e1003909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Rudorf ◽  
Michael Thommen ◽  
Marina V. Rodnina ◽  
Reinhard Lipowsky

Parasitology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Harrop ◽  
R. A. Wilson

SummaryThe lung schistosomulum ofSchistosoma mansoniis the target of protective immunity in mice singly vaccinated with irradiated cercariae. Since the effector responses are T cell-mediated, their initiation requires the release of antigens from the intact parasite. We have used the technique of biosynthetic labelling with ‘35S’methionine, before and after transformation of the cercariae, to analyse the kinetics of protein synthesis and release by the schistosomulum. In addition, the proteins present in the soluble fraction of the parasite and those released duringin vitroculture have been characterized. During a 7-day culture period schistosomula derived from labelled cercariae lost proteins most rapidly within the first 3 h after transformation. Two proteins of molecular weight 61 and 20 kDa were dominant and may correspond to areas of proteolytic activity. Analysis of the rate of protein synthesis of schistosomula labelled after transformation revealed four different phases, which may relate to the developmental processes occurringin vivo. During the first 24 h, synthesis was very low, increasing to a plateau and then rising to a peak at day 8; thereafter the rate declined rapidly. Whilst some stage-specific synthesis of proteins was detected in the soluble fractions of the parasite bodies, the pattern of proteins released by cultured larvae was remarkably uniform. At least 15 proteins were detected by autoradiography with bands at 61, 45 and 20 kDa being particularly prominent. These proteins merit further study as potential mediators of the protective immune response.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document