ABSTRACT
The effect of the administration of seven doses of the hepatocarcinogen thioacetamide on the chemical composition of rat liver nuclear envelope subfractions: associated chromatin, nuclear membranes and pore complex-lamina fraction, is analyzed. No alteration in DNA, RNA or phospholipid content is observed after the hepatocarcinogen treatment. Electrophoretic studies of each subfraction from thioacetamide treated rats show differences in the relative proportions of some polypeptides when compared with the controls. Examination of the wheat germ agglutinin binding polypeptides of each subfraction reveals a decrease in the stain of two pore complex-lamina nucleoporins of 85 and 164 kDa and an increase in one of 93 kDa; this observation can be due to changes in the quantity and/or in the agglutinin binding capacity of the nucleoporin as a result of thioacetamide administration. In view of the participation of nucleoporins in the nucleocytoplasmic transport, the changes observed suggest a relationship between changes of some O-linked N-acetyl glucosamine polypeptides components of the nuclear pore complex and the altered transport of some RNA species observed after thioacetamide administration.
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Rats , Carcinogens/pharmacology , Liver/cytology , Nuclear Proteins/drug effects , Peptides/drug effects , Thioacetamide/pharmacology , Nuclear Envelope/chemistry , Nuclear Envelope/metabolism , Nuclear Proteins/chemistry , Peptides/chemistry , Rats, Sprague-DawleyABSTRACT
The nuclear pore complexes mediate the selective nuclear import of proteins in a signal- and energy-dependent process. We have earlier reported the characterization of a monoclonal antibody, Mab E2, that recognizes a novel class of nuclear pore phosphoproteins involved in signal-binding and protein transport. In the present study, we have analyzed the pattern of immunoreactivity of Mab E2 in cultured rat fibroblasts and have observed significant differences in the expression of epitopes in proliferating and quiescent cells. Furthermore, the common epitope recognized by Mab E2 is conserved across species, consistent with its essential role in nuclear protein import.