Protein synthesis in the liver of rats injected with cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate

1. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate and killed after various intervals of time up to 3 days; ribosomes and cell sap were isolated from their liver tissue. These fractions were tested for their ability to participate in protein synthesis. 2. Protein synthesis in complete systems containing ribosomes, cell sap and all necessary cofactors was significantly enhanced at 12 and 72h after the injection and significantly inhibited at 24h. At early times after injection isolated ribosomes had a slightly enhanced ability to bind nRNA. Peptide-elongation processes (i.e. binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosomes, peptidyl transfer and polyphenylalanine synthesis) showed significant stimulation or inhibition depending on the time after injection of the ester. 3. A correlation was found between the ability of cell sap to stimulate polyphenylalanine synthesis and the relative cholesteryl 14-methylhexadecanoate content in the postmicrosomal supernatant at different time-intervals after administration of the ester. No significant changes were found in its content in the whole liver tissue. 4. Since the injected ester has previously been shown to accumulate in some enzymic fractions, the changes in its relative content may represent a regulatory mechanism modulating the rate of protein synthesis.