Protein synthesis by membrane-bound and free ribosomes of the developing rat cerebral cortex.

1. Rates of RNA and protein synthesis were measured in rat cerebral-cortex slices, and compared with amino acid incorporation into protein by membrane-bound and free ribosomes from the same tissue, in the first 3 weeks of life. 2. A rapid age-dependent decline in the incorporation of labelled precursors into both RNA and protein was observed, which was more marked for amino acid incorporation into protein. 3. Although membrane-bound ribosomes comprise only a small fraction of total ribosomes, they were more active in incorporating amino acids into protein than were free ribosomes, especially immediately after birth. The decline in activity with age was more marked in the membrane-bound fraction than in free ribosomes. This loss of activity was largely independent of alterations in soluble factors or endogenous mRNA content and appeared to involve some alteration of the function of the ribosome itself, with relatively small alterations in the ratio of membrane-bound to free ribosomes. 4. Thyroidectomy, performed soon after birth, had no effect on the incorporation of radioactive precursors into RNA or protein by either slices or the cell-free preparations during the first 3-4 weeks of life.