Metabolism of Histones of Brain and Liver

Turnover of whole histones of brain and liver nuclei was studied after administration of 14 C-lysine to adult mice. The radioactivity of histones and other nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins was determined at intervals from 2 hours to 245 days. Two fractions of cerebral histones with halflifetimes of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 1966-05, Vol.241 (10), p.2397-2404
Main Authors: R. Sakari Piha, Michel Cuénod, Heinrich Waelsch
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Brain - cytology
Brain - metabolism
Cell Nucleus - metabolism
DNA - metabolism
Histones - metabolism
In Vitro Techniques
Liver - cytology
Liver - metabolism
Lysine - metabolism
Mice
Microsomes - metabolism
Mitochondria - metabolism
Ribosomes - metabolism
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Summary:Turnover of whole histones of brain and liver nuclei was studied after administration of 14 C-lysine to adult mice. The radioactivity of histones and other nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins was determined at intervals from 2 hours to 245 days. Two fractions of cerebral histones with halflifetimes of 54 and 104 days and three fractions of hepatic histones with half-lifetimes of 18, 56, and 93 days were found. A larger number of fractions with gradually increasing turnover rates are not excluded. The histones of brain and liver turn over at a lower rate than any of the nuclear and cytoplasmic protein fractions measured in the respective organs. In order to label histones with a very low rate of turnover, 14 C-lysine was administered to pregnant mice and the turnover of histones was estimated in their offspring after reaching maturity. In the brain only a slow histone fraction with a half-lifetime of 117 days and in the liver two fractions with half-lifetimes of 58 and 105 days were observed. Over a period from 2 to 8½ months in the brain and from 5 to 8½ months in the liver the decrease in the specific activity of histones was very small, corresponding to a replacement rate of about 0.6% per day. The turnover rates of histones may reflect division and replacement of various cellular species. The data suggest a metabolic stability of histones which corresponds to that of deoxyribonucleic acid.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)96633-0