Protein synthesis in postnuclear supernatants from mengovirus-infected Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

The effect of mengovirus infection on the protein synthetic capacity of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells cultured in vitro was studied in vivo and in vitro employing postnuclear supernatants prepared at various times post-infection in the absence and in the presence of 1% Triton X-100. The amino acid incorporating activities of extracts obtained in the presence of the detergent were reduced by about 30% compared with the capacities of the corresponding postnuclear supernatants prepared in the absence of Triton X-100; but the course of the activity vs. time curve was not influenced by the detergent. Under the conditions employed, the postnuclear supernatants were unable to reinitiate protein synthesis once elongation of nascent polypeptide chains concomitant with ribosome runoff was completed. After mengovirus infection, a gradual disappearance of polysomes from postnuclear supernatants and a simultaneous accumulation of monosomes was observed. The protein-synthesizing activities of normal and infected cells were inversely proportional to the monosome concentrations of their corresponding extracts. Qualitatively, protein synthesis in intact cells and in postnuclear supernatants responded similarly to mengovirus infection. In both cases an initial reduction of host-specific amino acid incorporation was followed by a burst of viral protein synthesis. However, the two activity vs. time curves showed the following significant differences: 1) The activities of extracts from control cells and from mengovirus-infected cells nearly in the infectious cycle were low compared with the activities observed in vivo. 2) In the middle of the infectious cycle, the peak of viral protein synthesis occurred later and the activity was higher in vitro. 3) Finally, in the late period of the infectious cycle the postnuclear supernatants had considerable protein synthesizing activity, at a time when protein synthesis in vivo was nil.