The nuclear associated endoplasmic reticulum and membrane biogenesis in MPC-11 cells

The incorporation of 3H-glucosamine, 3H-choline and 14C-fucose into subcellular fractions of MPC-11 cells was studied. After a 20 min period of labelling with both 3H-glucosamine and 3H-choline, greatest incorporation was observed in nuclear-associated endoplasmic reticulum (NER). 14C-fucose, however, was incorporated to a greater extent in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes. Pulse-chase experiments with 3H-glucosamine showed a loss of radioactivity from NER and a simultaneous increase in the ER fraction. In comparison to NER, ER membranes were poorly labeled with 3H-glucosamine after a 20 min pulse. Following a 2 h incubation there was a 12 fold increase in radioactivity in ER membranes in comparison to a 1.2 fold increase in NER. There were no individual differences between subfractions of ER membranes with respect to 3H-glucosamine content after the pulse, or following the 2 h incubation. The results indicate that the NER is a major, early site of the synthesis of 3H-glucosamine labeled membrane glycoproteins, and that these proteins migrate into other ER membranes early after their synthesis.