Ferritin synthesis in inflammation. II. Mechanism of increased ferritin synthesis.

The mechanism of increased ferritin synthesis in inflammation was studied in rat livers 0-48 h after turpentine injection. A subcellular protein synthesizing system was employed in which the respective roles of cell sap factors and polysomes from normal and treated animals could be studied. Two waves of increased ferritin synthesis were found, an early wave with peak activity at 6 h of inflammation, and a second wave starting at about 24 h. The early wave of enhanced ferritin synthesis was associated with increased activity of cell sap factors. In contrast, the late enhancement of ferritin synthesis was characterized by increased polysomal activity as well as increased cell sap activity. These observations suggest a post-transcriptional control mechanism for the early phase of enhanced ferritin synthesis in inflammation, and a transcriptional as well as post-transcriptional control for the late phase of enhanced ferritin synthesis.