Decrease In Rate Of Synthesis Research Articles

Sex differences in changes of protein synthesis with rapamycin treatment are minimized when metformin is added to rapamycin.

Loss of protein homeostasis is a hallmark of the aging process. We and others have previously shown that maintenance of proteostasis is a shared characteristic of slowed-aging models. Rapamycin (Rap) exerts sex-specific effects on murine lifespan, but the combination of Rap with the anti-hyperglycemic drug metformin (Rap + Met) equally increases male and female mouse median lifespan. In the current investigation, we compare the effects of short-term (8weeks) Rap and Rap + Met treatments on bulk and individual protein synthesis in two key metabolic organs (the liver and skeletal muscle) of young genetically heterogeneous mice using deuterium oxide. We report for the first time distinct effects of Rap and Rap + Met treatments on bulk and individual protein synthesis in young mice. Although there were decreases in protein synthesis as assessed by bulk measurements, individual protein synthesis analyses demonstrate there were nearly as many proteins that increased synthesis as decreased synthesis rates. While we observed the established sex- and tissue-specific effects of Rap on protein synthesis, adding Met yielded more uniform effects between tissue and sex. These data offer mechanistic insight as to how Rap + Met may extend lifespan in both sexes while Rap does not.

Comparative dynamic transcriptome analysis (cDTA) reveals mutual feedback between mRNA synthesis and degradation

To monitor eukaryotic mRNA metabolism, we developed comparative dynamic transcriptome analysis (cDTA). cDTA provides absolute rates of mRNA synthesis and decay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) cells with the use of Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Sp) as an internal standard. cDTA uses nonperturbing metabolic labeling that supersedes conventional methods for mRNA turnover analysis. cDTA reveals that Sc and Sp transcripts that encode orthologous proteins have similar synthesis rates, whereas decay rates are fivefold lower in Sp, resulting in similar mRNA concentrations despite the larger Sp cell volume. cDTA of Sc mutants reveals that a eukaryote can buffer mRNA levels. Impairing transcription with a point mutation in RNA polymerase (Pol) II causes decreased mRNA synthesis rates as expected, but also decreased decay rates. Impairing mRNA degradation by deleting deadenylase subunits of the Ccr4–Not complex causes decreased decay rates as expected, but also decreased synthesis rates. Extended kinetic modeling reveals mutual feedback between mRNA synthesis and degradation that may be achieved by a factor that inhibits synthesis and enhances degradation.

Very Rapid Clearance after a Joint Bleed Knee Can Not Prevent Adverse Effects on Cartilage and Synovial Tissue: A Canine in Vivo Study.

Purpose Joint bleeds lead to joint destruction. In vitro exposure of human and canine cartilage to blood results in long lasting severe adverse changes in cartilage. An in vivo joint haemorrhage in the canine knee joint demonstrates similar adverse effects although less outspoken and long-lasting. We investigated the clearance rate of blood from canine knee joints as a possible explanation for this discrepancy.Methods Blood was injected into the knee joint of Beagle dogs, either 48h, 24h or 15m before termination. The amount of red and white blood cells present in the joint cavity was determined. Chondrocyte activity and cartilage matrix integrity as well as cartilage destructive activity of synovial tissue were determined biochemically. Additionally, synovial tissue was analyzed by use of histochemistry.Results Fifteen minutes after the injection of autologous blood, the red blood cell count was 5,7*1012/L, comparable to the amount present in whole blood, and gradually decreased (1,6*1012/L at 24 hours) to 0,2*1012/L within 48 hours (less than 5%). The amount of white blood cells increased in the first 24 hours, and was still increased after 48 hours, although less than after 24 hours. The proteoglycan synthesis rate and -release were adversely affected already within 24 hours (−22% and +24% respectively), and these effects were more severe 48 hours post-injection (−34% and +53% resp.). Synovial tissue culture supernatants demonstrate cartilage destructive properties as expressed by an increased release, a decreased synthesis rate, and decreased content of cartilage proteoglycans; increasing with time after the experimental haemorrhage (+207%/+247%; −58%/−62%; −8%/−28% respectively, for 24/48 hours). Evaluation of the synovial tissue revealed at 15 minutes post-injection countless numbers of intact RBC that were almost completely disappared after 48 hours, withonly limited recruitment of macrophages and iron deposition.Conclusions Blood is cleared very rapidly from the canine knee joint, but in that short time span already has adverse effects on both cartilage and synovial tissue. This rapid clearance can play a role in the discrepancy between long-term in vitro and in vivo effects of blood-induced joint damage since more than 10% v/v blood for 48 hours is needed induced to long-term adverse effects in vitro. Irrespectively, blood has devastating effects on articular cartilage very rapidly, and in this respect it is important to prevent (traumatic) joint haemorrhages and if they occur, to treat them properly.

Mutation of Two Intramembrane Polar Residues Conserved within the Hyaluronan Synthase Family Alters Hyaluronan Product Size

We identified two conserved polar amino acids within different membrane domains (MD) of Streptococcus equisimilis hyaluronan synthase (seHAS), Lys48 in MD2 and Glu327 in MD4. In eukaryotic HASs, the position of the Glu is very similar and the Lys is replaced by a conserved polar Gln. To assess whether Lys48 and Glu327 interact or influence seHAS activity, we investigated the effects of changing Lys48 to Arg or Glu and Glu327 to Lys, Asp, or Gln. Mutants, including a double switch variant with Lys48 and Glu327 exchanged, were expressed and assayed in Escherichia coli membranes. SeHASE327Q and seHASE327K were expressed at low levels, whereas seHASE327D and the Lys48 mutants were expressed well. The specific enzyme activities (relative to wild type) were 17 and 7% for the K48R and K48E mutants and 26 and 38% for the E327Q and E327D mutants, respectively. In contrast, seHAS(E327K) showed only 0.16% of wild-type activity but was rescued over 46-fold by changing Lys48 to Glu. Expression of the seHASE327K,K48E protein was also rescued to near wild-type levels. Based on size exclusion chromatography coupled to multiangle laser light scattering analysis, all the variants synthesized hyaluronan (HA) of smaller weight-average molar mass than wild-type enzyme (3.6 MDa); the smallest HA (approximately 0.6 MDa) was made by seHASE327K,K48E and seHASK48E. The results indicate that Glu327 within MD4 is a critical residue for the stability of seHAS, that it may interact with Lys48 within MD2, and that these residues are involved in the ability of HAS to synthesize very large HA.

Effect of glutamine on glutathione kinetics in vivo in dogs

To determine whether glutamine affects glutathione (GSH, γ-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) metabolism, seven healthy beagle dogs received 6-h infusions of [ 15N]glutamate and [ 13C]leucine after a 3-day fast. Isotope infusions were performed during oral feeding with an elemental regimen, supplemented with either l-glutamine or an isonitrogenous amino acid mixture, on two separate days and in randomized order. Timed blood samples were obtained, and a surgical duodenal biopsy was performed after 6 h of isotope infusion. GSH fractional synthesis rate (FSR) was assessed from [ 15N]glutamate incorporation into blood and gut GSH, and duodenal protein synthesis from [ 13C]leucine incorporation into gut protein. Glutamine supplementation failed to alter erythrocyte GSH concentration (2189±86 vs. 1994±102 μmol L −1 for glutamine vs. control; ns) or FSR (64±17% vs. 74±20% day −1; ns). In the duodenum, glutamine supplementation was associated with a 92% rise in reduced/oxidized GSH ratio ( P=.024) and with a 44% decline in GSH FSR (96±15% day −1 vs. 170±18% day −1; P=.005), whereas total GSH concentration remained unchanged (808±154 vs. 740±127 μmol kg −1; P=.779). We conclude that, in dogs receiving enteral nutrition after a 3-day fast: (1) glutamine availability does not affect blood GSH, and, (2) in contrast, in the duodenum, the preserved GSH pool, along with a decreased synthesis rate, suggests that glutamine may maintain GSH pool and intestinal redox status by acutely decreasing GSH utilization.

Regulation of myofibrillar protein turnover during maturation in normal and undernourished rat pups.

The study tested the hypothesis that a higher rate of myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic protein synthesis is responsible for the rapid postdifferentiation accumulation of myofibrils and that an inadequate nutrient intake will compromise primarily myofibrillar protein synthesis. Myofibrillar (total and individual) and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis, accretion, and degradation rates were measured in vivo in well-nourished (C) rat pups at 6, 15, and 28 days of age and compared at 6 and 15 days of age with pups undernourished (UN) from birth. In 6-day-old C pups, a higher myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic protein synthesis rate accounted for the greater deposition of myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic proteins. The fractional synthesis rates of both protein compartments decreased with age, but to a greater degree for myofibrillar proteins (-54 vs. -42%). These decreases in synthesis rates were partially offset by reductions in degradation rates, and from 15 days, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins were deposited in constant proportion to one another. Undernutrition reduced both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis rates, and the effect was greater at 6 (-25%) than 15 days (-15%). Decreases in their respective degradation rates minimized the effect of undernutrition on sarcoplasmic protein accretion from 4 to 8 days and on myofibrillar proteins from 13 to 17 days. Although these adaptations in protein turnover reduced overall growth of muscle mass, they mitigated the effects of undernutrition on the normal maturational changes in myofibrillar protein concentration.

Erythrocyte glutathione deficiency in symptom-free HIV infection is associated with decreased synthesis rate.

Although several studies have documented intra- and extracellular glutathione (GSH) deficiency in asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the mechanisms responsible for the altered GSH homeostasis remain unknown. To determine whether decreased synthesis contributes to this alteration of GSH homeostasis, a primed-constant infusion of [2H2]glycine was used to measure the fractional and absolute rates of synthesis of GSH in five healthy and five symptom-free HIV-infected subjects before and after supplementation for 1 wk with N-acetylcysteine. The erythrocyte GSH concentration of the HIV-infected group was lower (P < 0.01) than that of the control group (1.4 +/- 0.16 vs. 2.4 +/- 0.08 mmol/l). The smaller erythrocyte GSH pool of the HIV-infected group was associated with a significantly slower (P < 0.01) absolute synthesis rate of GSH (1.15 +/- 0.14 vs. 1.71 +/- 0.15 mmol. l-1. day-1) compared with controls. Cysteine supplementation elicited significant increases in both the absolute rate of synthesis and the concentration of erythrocyte GSH. These results suggest that the GSH deficiency of HIV infection is due in part to a reduced synthesis rate secondary to a shortage in cysteine availability.

Population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy young adults

The population pharmacokinetics and pharmacological response — prothrombin complex activity and factor VII activity — were studied in a group of 48 normal, healthy young volunteers. Population parameter estimates were obtained using a standard two-stage method, a nonlinear mixed effect model (NONMEM) and a two-stage Bayesian method (EM algorithm). A modified sigmoid-Imax model was used to relate the concentration of s-warfarin to the rate of clotting factor synthesis. The three methods produced similar estimates of the population pharmacokinetic parameters, although the standard two-stage method overestimated the contribution of the pharmacokinetic parameters to the interindividual variability. It was not possible to partition the interindividual variability in response between the pharmacodynamic parameters with the NONMEM procedure: the estimates obtained from the EM algorithm were generally in good agreement with those obtained using the standard two-stage approach. The variability in the warfarin concentration contributed at most only 40% of the observed variability in the pharmacological response, and then only for times greater than 96 h after the dose. Most of the variability in the pharmacodynamics was due to interindividual differences in the clotting factor degradation rate constant and C 50, s , the s-warfarin concentration causing a 50% decrease in synthesis rate.

Effects of ( d-amphetamine on dopaminergic neurotransmission; a comparison between the substantia nigra and the striatum

The effects of ( d-amphetamine (d-AMP) on dopaminergic neurotransmission in the cell body/dendritic region of the nigrostriatal pathway, the substantia nigra, have been investigated and compared to the effects obtained in the terminal region of the pathway, the striatum. The rate of synthesis of dopamine (DA) was quantified as accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), after inhibition of aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase with 3-hydroxybenzyl-hydrazine (NSD 1015). As measures of the metabolism of DA the concentrations of the metabolites of DA, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) were determined. As indices of release of DA, the accumulation of 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT), after inhibition of monoamine oxidase with pargyline and the disappearance of DA, after inhibition of its synthesis with α-methyl- p-tyrosine were assessed. ( d-Amphetamine insignificantly increased the concentration of DA in the striatum but profoundly decreased it in the substantia nigra (to 60% of controls). Both in the striatum and in the substantia nigra treatment with d-AMP induced clearcut decreases of the concentrations of DOPAC. Also the concentration of HVA was profoundly decreased in the striatum but only marginal effects on HVA were observed in the substantia nigra. In both structures of the brain, d-AMP increased the concentration of 3-MT. Depending on the dose, d-AMP increased or had no effect on the accumulation of DOPA in the striatum but consistently decreased it in the substantia nigra. In the striatum, d-AMP increased the pargylineinduced accumulation of 3-MT, without affecting the concentration of DA. However, in the substantia nigra the concentration of DA was profoundly decreased (to 50% of controls) in combination with unaltered accumulation of 3-MT, unless the rats were pretreated with haloperidol. If so, the effects of d-AMP on the concentration of DA and accumulation of 3-MT were the same in the substantia nigra and in the striatum. The results indicate that d-AMP depleted stores of DA in the substantia nigra, due to its releasing action, in combination with its decreasing effect on the rate of synthesis of DA. The decrease in rate of synthesis of DA is suggested to be due to the d-AMP-induced decrease in the firing rate of dopaminergic neurones.

Synthesis of C1 inhibitor in fibroblasts from patients with type I and type II hereditary angioneurotic edema.

Patients with hereditary angioneurotic edema (HANE) have serum levels of functionally active inhibitor of the first component of complement (C1 INH) between 5 and 30% of normal, instead of the 50% expected from the single normal allele. Increases in rates of catabolism have been documented in patients with HANE and certainly account for some of decrease in C1 INH level. A possible role for a decrease in synthesis of C1 INH in producing serum levels of C1 INH below the expected 50% of normal has not been well studied. We studied the synthesis of C1 INH in skin fibroblast lines, which produce easily detectable amounts of C1 INH. In type I HANE cells, C1 INH synthesis was 19.6 +/- 4.0% (mean +/- SD) of normal, much less than the 50% predicted. In type II HANE cells, the total amount of C1 INH synthesis (functional and dysfunctional) was 98.9 +/- 17% of normal; the functional protein comprised 43% of the total. Thus, type II HANE cells synthesized functional C1 INH at a much greater rate than for the type I cells. In both type I and II HANE cells, amounts of steady-state C1 INH mRNA levels paralleled rates of C1 INH synthesis, indicating that control of C1 INH synthesis occurred at pretranslational levels. Both type I and type II fibroblasts synthesized normal amounts of C1r and C1s. These data suggest that the lower than expected amounts of functionally active C1 INH in type I HANE may be due, in part, to a decrease in rate of synthesis of the protein, and that the expressions of the normal C1 INH allele in HANE is influenced by the type of abnormal allele present.

Mutations which alter the level or structure of nsP4 can affect the efficiency of Sindbis virus replication in a host-dependent manner

Two mutants of Sindbis virus have been isolated which grow inefficiently at 34.5 degrees C in mosquito cells yet replicate normally in chicken embryo fibroblast cells at the same temperature. In addition, these mutants exhibit temperature-sensitive growth in both cell types and are RNA- at the nonpermissive temperatures (K.J. Kowal and V. Stollar, Virology 114:140-148, 1981). To clarify the basis of this host restriction, we have mapped the causal mutations for these temperature-dependent, host-restricted mutants. Functional mapping and sequence analysis of the mutant cDNAs revealed several mutations which mapped to the amino terminus of nsP4, the putative polymerase subunit of the viral RNA replicase. These mutations resulted in the following amino acid changes in nsP4: leucine to valine at residue 48, aspartate to glycine at residue 142, and proline to arginine at residue 187. Virus containing any of these mutations was restricted in its ability to replicate in mosquito but not chicken embryo fibroblast cells at 34.5 degrees C. In addition to its temperature-dependent, host-restricted phenotype, virus derived from one cDNA clone also exhibited decreased levels of nsP34 and nsP4 yet contained only a silent change in its genome. This C-to-U mutation occurred at nucleotide 5751, the first nucleotide after the opal termination codon separating nsP3 and nsP4. Our results suggest that this substitution decreases readthrough of the opal codon and diminishes production of nsP34 and nsP4. Such a decrease in synthesis rates might lead to levels of these products which are insufficient for viral RNA replication in mosquito cells at the higher temperature. This work provides the first evidence that nsP4 function can be strongly influenced by the host environment.

αS1-CnD, another allele associated with a decreased synthesis rate at the caprine αS1-casein locus

αS1-CnD, another allele associated with a decreased synthesis rate at the caprine αS1-casein locus

αS1-CnD, another allele associated with a decreased synthesis rate at the caprine αS1-casein locus

α_S1-Cn^D, another allele associated with a decreased synthesis rate at the caprine α_S1-casein locus

Translational control of exported proteins that results from OmpC porin overexpression.

The regulation of synthesis and export of outer membrane proteins of Escherichia coli was examined by overexpressing ompC in multicopy either from its own promoter or from an inducible promoter in an expression vector. Overexpression of OmpC protein resulted in a nearly complete inhibition of synthesis of the OmpA and LamB outer membrane proteins but had no effect on synthesis of the periplasmic maltose-binding protein. Immunoprecipitation of labeled proteins showed no evidence of accumulation of uncleaved precursor forms of OmpA or maltose-binding protein following induction of OmpC overexpression. The inhibition of OmpA and LamB was tightly coupled to OmpC overexpression and occurred very rapidly, reaching a high level within 2 min after induction. OmpC overexpression did not cause a significant decrease in expression of a LamB-LacZ hybrid protein produced from a lamB-lacZ fusion in which the fusion joint was at the second amino acid of the LamB signal sequence. There was no significant decrease in rate of synthesis of ompA mRNA as measured by filter hybridization of pulse-labeled RNA. These results indicate that the inhibition is at the level of translation. We propose that cells are able to monitor expression of exported proteins by sensing occupancy of some limiting component in the export machinery and use this to regulate translation of these proteins.

Gene regulation during dedifferentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

During development of Dictyostelium discoideum, cells acquire the capacity to rapidly recapitulate morphogenesis. Therefore, when cells at the loose aggregate stage are disaggregated and challenged to reaggregate, they do so in a tenth of the original time. If loose aggregate cells are disaggregated and resuspended in buffered dextrose solution (erasure medium), they retain the capacity of rapid recapitulation for 80 min, then completely lose this capacity in a single, synchronous step referred to as the “erasure event.” The erasure event sets in motion a program of dedifferentiation during which cells lose developmentally acquired characteristics at different times. The erasure event is inhibited by the addition of 10 −4 M cAMP to erasure medium. The synthesis of 33 growth-associated polypeptides, the synthesis of 53 development-associated polypeptides, and the level of 2 development-associated RNAs have been monitored during the erasure program and in cultures inhibited from erasing by the addition of 10 −4 M cAMP. Growth-associated polypeptides begin to be resynthesized and development-associated polypeptides exhibit dramatic decreases in rate of synthesis at different times throughout the first 240 min in erasure medium. Inhibiting the erasure event with cAMP has no major effect in the resynthesis of the majority of growth-associated polypeptides. Only one growth-associated polypeptide, V28, is completely inhibited by cAMP, suggesting that it may play a role in the erasure process. In contrast, inhibiting the erasure event with cAMP has a marked effect on the synthesis of development-associated polypeptides, causing a dramatic reduction in the rate at which synthesis decreases for 6 polypeptides, and completely inhibits the decrease in the synthetic rate of 8 polypeptides. The two development-associated RNAs, 16G1 and 10C3, exhibit two distinctly different patterns of loss during erasure, but in both cases cAMP added at time zero of the erasure process dramatically retards or inhibits loss. In addition, when cAMP is added just prior to the erasure event, it inhibits the erasure event and stimulates a rapid increase in the level of 16G1 RNA back to the developmental level. The level of 16G1 RNA then remains at this level for at least 400 min. When cAMP is added after the erasure event, it causes a low, transient increase in the level of 16G1 RNA. These results are considered both in relation to the program of erasure, and in relation to the role of cAMP in the expression of developmental genes during the forward program of development.

Evidence for translational regulation of chloroplast and mitochondrial biogenesis in euglena

Changes in the rate of synthesis in vivo of 289 of the most abundant cellular polypeptides and 250 of the most abundant translatable RNAs were followed upon transferring dark grown resting Euglena to light. Pulse labelling with [ 35S] sulfate followed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis indicated that the relative rate of synthesis of 61 polypeptides increased and 29 decreased during the first half hour of light exposure. Changes in the rate of synthesis of other polypeptides were initially seen at 1, 4, 14, 24, 48 but not 72 h after exposure to continuous illumination. Of 18 chloroplast polypeptides found on 2-dimensional gels, the relative rate of synthesis of 5 increased during the first half hour of light exposure. The major period of elevated synthesis for 12 other chloroplast polypeptides including the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase occurred between 24–72 h after exposure to continuous illumination. The synthesis rate of one chloroplast polypeptide decreased immediately upon light exposure. Of 32 mitochondrial polypeptides found on 2-dimensional gels, the relative rate of synthesis of 9 polypeptides decreased during the first half hour of light exposure and the synthesis of 12 additional polypeptides decreased by 14 h of light exposure. A transient increase in the synthesis of 4 mitochondrial polypeptides occurred during the first 14 h of light exposure, the synthesis of one was transiently increased between 24–72 h of light exposure while one mitochondrial polypeptide was synthesized at an increased rate for 72 h. Light had no effect on the rate of synthesis of 5 mitochondrial polypeptides. For most polypeptides, a sustained increase or decrease in the relative rate of synthesis was correlated with an increase or decrease in the amount of that polypeptide found in cells exposed to continuous illumination for 72 h. Changes in organelle polypeptide levels are due to stage specific changes in their rate of synthesis rather than changes in their rate of degradation. An analysis of abundant poly(A) + RNA levels by cell free translation followed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis failed to detect quantitative or qualitative changes in RNA abundance after 4, 12, 24 or 48 h of light exposure. Since light exposure produced major stage specific changes in the translation rate of a large number of the most abundant in vivo translation products in the absence of changes in the levels of the 250 most abundant translatable poly(A) + RNAs, translational control must play a major role in the photoregulation of the synthesis of chloroplast and mitochondrial proteins in Euglena.

Dibutyryl cyclic AMP decreases the rate of lipoprotein lipase synthesis in cultured adipocytes

The regulation of avian lipoprotein lipase by dibutyryl cyclic AMP in cultured adipocytes was studied with quantitative and specific methods for the measurements of enzyme catalytic activity, enzyme protein mass, and immunoadsorption of labeled enzyme. Incubation of adipocytes in 0.5 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP plus 0.5 mM theophylline results in a time-dependent decrease in cell lipoprotein lipase catalytic activity. The activity is decreased by 70% in 4 h and over 90% by 12 h. The decrease in cellular catalytic activity is due to a decrease in both enzyme content and enzyme catalytic efficiency. 4 h after exposure of adipocytes to cAMP, enzyme protein was decreased from 3.58 ± 0.5 to 1.92 ± 0.1 ng/ dish and specific activity from 15.1 ± 2.1 to 8.4 ± 1.1 nmol/ ng. In the presence of 0.5 mM theophylline, the dibutyryl cyclic AMP-mediated decrease in lipoprotein lipase activity was half-maximal at less than 25 μM dibutyryl cyclic AMP. The rate of lipoprotein lipase synthesis was estimated by measuring the incorporation of l-[ 35S]methionine into enzyme protein during 30 min. A method for the quantitative immunoadsorption of lipoprotein lipase from cell lysates was developed. Utilizing this immunoadsorption technique, the rate of incorporation of l-[ 35S]methionine into lipoprotein lipase was 0.0026 ± 0.002%, when expressed as a percentage of that incorporated into total trichloroacetic acid-precipitable counts. By 2 h after exposure of adipocytes to 0.5 mM dibutyryl cAMP, the relative synthesis rate had already decreased to 64 ± 4% of the control rate. After 16 h the synthesis rate was 43.2 ± 13.8% of the control rate. The observed decreased synthesis rate could account for most of the decreased cellular enzyme content and diminished enzyme secretion rate.

Effect of inactivity and passive stretch on protein turnover in phasic and postural rat muscles.

A state of hypokinesia and hypodynamia has been induced in the hindlimb muscles of the rat (100 g) using a suspension model. The ensuing muscle atrophy was assessed by reference to muscles in fully mobile control animals, which were either fed ad libitum or fed the same lower food intake of the suspended animals. Over a total of 7 days of suspension the slow-twitch postural soleus muscle underwent a much greater atrophy than the fast-twitch phasic extensor digitorum longus. Changes with respect to the position of the suspended foot, and hence muscle length, necessitate caution in comparing the extent of the atrophy between different muscle types. After 3 days of inactivity the atrophy of the soleus muscle was explained by a 21% decrease in the fractional rate of synthesis (measured in vivo) and a 100% increase in the rate of protein breakdown. The reduction in the synthetic rate was associated with a net loss (23%) of RNA and hence muscle ribosomes. In contrast when this inactive soleus muscle was permanently stretched the RNA content (44%) and protein synthetic rate increased (59%) markedly above control values. Although protein breakdown remained elevated in this stretched muscle, the extent of the atrophy in response to hypokinesia and hypodynamia was greatly reduced.

Changes in protein turnover in rat uterus during pregnancy.

The adaptive growth and protein turnover of the rat uterus were studied during the 21 days of gestation and up to 3 days after parturition. Despite large increases (13-fold) in uterine size during gestation, the fractional rate of protein synthesis (measured in vivo) remained unchanged when compared with nonpregnant tissue values of 44 +/- 5%/day. However, decreases were found in the rate of protein breakdown after implantation (i.e., 75% on day 7 and 28% on day 11) and in the activity of cathepsin D (i.e., 33 and 85% on days 8 and 16 of gestation). Changes in the degradative processes would therefore appear to be primarily responsible for the massive uterine growth during pregnancy. In contrast to the uterus the fractional rates of synthesis in the placenta and fetus progressively decreased during gestation. After parturition the uterus rapidly returned to its normal size by a combination of cellular atrophy and cell loss. After 2 days, a complementary decrease in the fractional rate of synthesis (30%) and an increase in protein degradation (2-fold) explained the process of involution.

An analysis of stage-specific protein synthesis in the early Drosophila embryo using high-resolution, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

An improved method of high-resolution, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis has been used to study the patterns of protein synthesis during embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster. Small groups of synchronized embryos were radiolabeled directly by microinjection with [ 35S]methionine, and the patterns of synthesis of [ 35S]methionine-labeled proteins from 15 developmental stages between 1.5 and 18.5 hr post-fertilization evaluated. Over 1200 proteins were resolved, and changes in the temporal pattern of synthesis of many of these have been analyzed in the present study. Major qualitative and quantitative differences in the relative rates of synthesis of large numbers of proteins were found in the stages examined. These have been grouped into several different classes. In particular, one group consisted of proteins displaying a dramatic fall in levels of synthesis from preblastoderm through cellular blastoderm. Within this group, some proteins disappeared completely by gastrulation, whereas others underwent a phase of elevated synthesis at a later stage of development. A second group consisted of proteins that were found at all stages examined. All polypeptides in this group underwent a phase of elevated rate of synthesis post cellular blastoderm. A third group consisted of stage-specific proteins that were synthesized during a specific embryonic stage. Temporal changes in the relative rates of synthesis of many proteins were found to be clustered in a few limited periods of rapid change that occurred every 4 to 5 hr. In addition, subsets of proteins increasing during one such period were observed to decrease during a later period, indicating the possibility of some form of coordinate regulation. The time interval between a period of increase and decrease in rates of synthesis of many proteins was observed to occur every 9–10 hr.