Evidence for the exchangeability of acidic ribosomal proteins on cytoplasmic ribosomes in regenerating rat liver.

We purified acidic ribosomal proteins (P1 and P2) in good yield from rat liver ribosomes by precipitation of ribosomes with MgCl2 prior to ethanol extraction and chromatography of the extract on a column of CM-cellulose at pH 4.8. The newly-synthesized acidic ribosomal proteins in regenerating rat liver, labeled in vivo with [3H]leucine, were rapidly incorporated into cytoplasmic ribosomes without any detectable time lag and, after reaching a maximum at 30 min, they gradually disappeared from the ribosomes, suggesting a short metabolic-life. However, it was found later that they were re-incorporated slowly when newly-labeled proteins were "chased" by an injection of a large amount of cold leucine intraperitoneally at 15 min after the injection of [3H]leucine. Furthermore, in a long-term experiment, acidic ribosomal proteins were found to disappear with a half-life of 100 h from the ribosomes. Thus, these results suggest that acidic ribosomal proteins have a long metabolic life and are exchangeable on cytoplasmic ribosomes in regenerating rat liver.