De novo synthesis of neuron-specific enolase in a rabbit reticulocyte translation system programmed by poly(A)-RNA from rat brain.

Poly(A)-RNA prepared from the brains of 30-day-old male rats has been shown to direct the synthesis of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in a cell-free system derived from rabbit reticulocytes. The newly synthesized polypeptides were immunoprecipitated and analyzed on SDS-polyacrylamide slab gels. Autoradiography indicated the synthesis of a product that comigrated with purified NSE and was recognized only by the anti-NSE antisera. Similar immunoprecipitation of reticulocyte lysates programmed with total RNA derived from embryonic chick heart failed to indicate the synthesis of NSE. These results show that the mRNA coding for NSE contains a poly(A) sequence and that brain-specific factors are not required for its translation.