Fast estimation of ATP/ADP ratio as a special step in pharmacological and toxicological studies using the cell-free translation systems.

We have developed a simple and effective reversed-phase HPLC procedure for rapid estimation of the ATP/ADP ratio in a cell-free translation system containing creatine kinase. Analysis of the acetone-extractable pool derived from a reticulocyte lysate cell-free system was carried out by automatic chromatography on S5CN-ODS stationary phase using a linear 10-65% pyridine elution gradient formed on the basis of methanol/water (9:1, v/v) mobile phase. This method was used to detect and characterize the inhibition of translation induced by considerable suppression of ATP resynthesis in vitro. It was shown that methyl mercury, unlike cycloheximide, pactamycin, CCl4 and barbituric acid, exerts inhibitory effect on the ATP regeneration in a cell-free translation system.