Protein synthesis in isolated cell nuclei

Abstract

1. Nuclei prepared from calf thymus tissue in a sucrose medium actively incorporate labelled amino acids into their proteins. This is an aerobic process which is dependent on nuclear oxidative phosphorylation. 2. Evidence is presented to show that the uptake of amino acids represents nuclear protein synthesis. 3. The deoxyribonucleic acid of the nucleus plays a role in amino acid incorporation. Protein synthesis virtually ceases when the DNA is removed from the nucleus, and uptake resumes when the DNA is restored. 4. In the essential mechanism of amino acid incorporation, the role of the DNA can be filled by denatured or partially degraded DNA, by DNAs from other tissues, and even by RNA. Purine and pyrimidine bases, monoribonucleotides, and certain dinucleotides are unable to substitute for DNA in this system. 5. When the proteins of the nucleus are fractionated and classified according to their specific activities, one finds the histones to be relatively inert. The protein fraction most closely associated with the DNA has a very high activity. A readily extractable ribonucleoprotein complex is also extremely active, and it is tempting to speculate that this may be an intermediary in nucleocytoplasmic interaction. 6. The isolated nucleus can incorporate glycine into nucleic acid purines, and orotic acid into the pyrimidines of its RNA. Orotic acid uptake into nuclear RNA requires the presence of the DNA. 7. The synthesis of ribonucleic acid can be inhibited at any time by a benzimidazole riboside (DRB) (which also retards influenza virus multiplication (11)). 8. The incorporation of amino acids into nuclear proteins seems to require a preliminary activation of the nucleus. This can be inhibited by the same benzimidazole derivative (DRB) which interferes with RNA synthesis, provided that the inhibitor is present at the outset of the incubation. DRB added 30 minutes later has no effect on nuclear protein synthesis. These results suggest that the activation of the nucleus so that it actively incorporates amino acids into its proteins requires a preliminary synthesis of ribonucleic acid. 9. Together with earlier observations (27, 28) on the incorporation of amino acids by cytoplasmic particulates, these results show that protein synthesis can occur in both nucleus and cytoplasm.