A procedure is described for the preparation of free and bound polysomes from whole homogenates of rat liver tissue. Liver is homogenized in a conventional medium containing glutathione; then after a 12-min centrifugation at 131000g, the free polysomes in the supernatant are saved, while the membrane-bound polysomes in the pellet are suspended in a mixture of ribonuclease inhibitors (cell sap, 250 mM KCl, and glutathione), homogenized in the presence of detergent (Triton X-100), centirfuged for 5 min at 1470g, decanted, and treated with deoxycholate; the polysomes in the two supernatants are harvested by centrifugation through sucrose gradients containing 250 mM KCl and cell sap. Free and bound polysomes prepared in this manner are undegraded, equally active in cell-free protein synthesis, and virtually free of ribonuclease, membranous material, glycogen, deoxycholate, completed protein, and cross-contamination. The recovery of polysomes is approximately 95% and the distribution between the free and membrane-bound state is 25 and 75%, respectively. The molecular weight profiles after sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis of the polypeptides completed and released by free and bound polysomes in vitro are different, indicating that there are quantitative differences in the synthesis of various size polypeptides between the two polysome classes. The differential centrifugation procedure is rapid and reproducible, requires much less ultracentrifugation than the isopycnic technique, and provides a nearly quantitative means of separating free and bound polysomes.
To investigate a possible mechanism for inducing epigenetic defects in the preimplantation embryo, a human embryonic stem cell model was developed, and gene expression of the key methyl cycle enzymes, MAT2A, MAT2B, GNMT, SAHH, CBS, CGL, MTR, MTRR, BHMT, BHMT2, mSHMT, cSHMT and MTHFR was demonstrated, while MAT1 was barely detectable. Several potential acceptors of cycle-generated methyl groups, the DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B and DNMT3L), glycine methyltransferase and the polyamine biosynthetic enzymes, SAM decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase, were also expressed. Expression of folate receptor alpha suggests a propensity for folate metabolism. Methotrexate-induced depletion of folate resulted in elevated intracellular homocysteine concentration after 7 days in culture and a concomitant increase in cysteine and glutathione, indicating clearance of homocysteine through the transulphuration pathway. These studies indicate that altered methyl group metabolism provides a potential mechanism for inducing epigenetic changes in the preimplantation embryo.
Abstract— A procedure is described for the preparation of free and bound polysomes from whole homogenate of rat brain tissue. Brain is homogenized in a sucrose‐polysome buffer medium high in KCl (250 mm). After a 12‐min centrifugation at 135,000 g, the free polysomes in the supernatant are decanted and saved, while the membrane bound polysomes in the pellet are resuspended in homogenizing medium, homogenized in the presence of detergent (Triton X‐100), centrifuged for 5min at 1470 g to remove nuclei, decanted, treated with deoxycholate and centrifuged for 10 min at 24,000 g to remove deoxycholate‐insoluble material. Polysomes in the two supernatants are harvested by centrifugation through sucrose gradients prepared in high KCl polysome buffer, and with or without cell sap. Free and bound polysomes prepared in this manner are undegraded, equally active in cell‐free protein synthesis, and largely free of the usual contaminants. Cross‐contamination is minimal (>10%). The recovery of polysomes is at least 95%. The distribution of ribosomes and polysomes in rat brain is 58% free and 42% membrane‐bound. The distribution of rat brain RNA is 65% ribosomal and 35% non‐ribosomal. Conditions are described for the visualization and analysis of the entire complement of free and bound ribosomes. The size fractionation procedure is rapid and reproducible, requires much less ultracentrifugation than the density‐gradient technique, and provides a nearly quantitative means of isolating undegraded free and bound polysomes of rat brain tissue.
Free loosely bound and tightly bound polyribosomes were separated from rat liver homogenate by salt extraction followed by differential centrifugation, and several of their structural and functional properties were compared to resolve the existence of loosely bound polyribosomes and verify the specificity of the separation. The free and loosely bound polyribosomes have similar sedimentation profiles and polyribosome contents, their subunit proteins have similar electrophoretic patterns and their products of protein synthesis in vitro show a close correspondence in size and amounts synthesized. In contrast, the tightly bound polyribosomes have different properties from those of the free and loosely bound polyribosomes; their average size is significantly smaller; their polyribosome content is higher; their 60S-subunit proteins lack two components and contain four or more components not found elsewhere; their products of protein synthesis in vitro differ in size and amounts synthesized. These observations show that rat liver membranes entrap a large fraction of the free polyribosomes at low salt concentrations and that these polyribosomes are similar to those ofthe free-polyribosome fraction and are different from those of the tightly bound polyribosome fraction in size, structure and function.
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