Effect of a single dose of inducers and inhibitors on the rate of synthesis of cytochromes and reductases in liver organelles.

Measurement of the effect of drugs on the in vivo rates of synthesis of rabbit liver organelle bound proteins were measured following individual treatments with the inducers phenobarbital, 3-methylcholanthrene and PCB (a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls) and the inhibitors, cycloheximide, aflatoxin B1, chloramphenicol and actinomycin D. Following their isolation from a homogenate containing the combined livers of 14C-leucine injected experimental animals and 3H-leucine injected control animals, purified fractions of the following proteins were prepared: microsomal cytochrome b5, cytochrome P-450, NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase and proteolipids, outer mitochondrial membrane cytochrome b5, NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase and proteolipids, inner mitochondrial membrane cytochrome c, NADH dehydrogenase and proteolipids, intermitochondrial membrane cytochrome b5 and circulating serum albumin. The effect of a drug was examined by measuring the 14C/3H ratio of leucine incorporation of each fraction; ratios which differed markedly from a control value of 1 represented actual changes in the relative rates of protein synthesis. Increased rates of synthesis of cytochrome P-450 and its reductase, intermitochondrial membrane cytochrome b5 and all three proteolipid fractions resulted from each inducer treatment. Treatments with 3-methylcholanthrene and PCB also increased the rate of synthesis of cytochrome b5 and its reductase in both the microsome and outer mitochondrial membrane. In addition, the PCB treatment increased the rates of synthesis of cytochrome c and NADH-dehydrogenase. The rates of synthesis of cytochromes, reductases and of circulating serum albumin were inhibited following treatments with cycloheximide, aflatoxin B1 and actinomycin D. Actinomycin D appeared to inhibit the release of newly synthesized albumin into the bloodstream while chloramphenicol treatment appeared to inhibit the incorporation of cytochrome c into the mitochondria. After 20 hours of treatment with inhibitors, the inhibitory effect of actinomycin D and cycloheximide were still apparent while the rates of protein synt;esis in chloramphenicol and aflatoxin B1 treated animals increased to levels above the controls. The incorporation of radioactively labeled leucine into the proteolipids of the microsomal, and the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes were inhibited following the treatment with actinomycin D and stimulated following the treatment with cycloheximide.