Altered tRNA methylation in rats and mice fed lipotrope-deficient diets

A diet that is deficient in methionine, choline, folic acid and vitamin B12 has been found to induce alterations rapidly in liver tRNA methylation in male Fischer rats. In vitro assays indicated that activity of N2-guanine tRNA methyltransferase II (NMG2) was increased to 150% of controls levels in 1 week and 300% of control levels after 2 weeks or longer on this diet. Incompletely methylated tRNA was isolated from livers of these same animals, indicating that there was impairment of methylation in vivo. The effects on liver tRNA methylation of this methyl-deficient diet were thus seen to mimic those of the liver carcinogen, ethionine, which also causes production of hypomethylated tRNA and increased activity of NMG2. The effect of the same diet on liver tRNA methyltransferase activity of C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ inbred mice were also studied. Intake of the lipotrope-deficient diet induced elevation in activity of liver N2-guanine tRNA methyltransferase II activity in C57BL/6J mice, similar to that seen in rats. In contrast, the methyl-deficient diet had very little effect on the same enzyme activity in C3H/HeJ animals.