Mitochondrial metabolism in normal, myeloid, and erythroid hyperplastic rabbit bone marrow: effect of chloramphenicol.

Protein synthesis, respiration, and oxidative phosphorylation were studied in mitochondria isolated from normal, myeloid, and erythroid hyperplastic bone marrow of rabbits. Mitochondria from normal and myeloid hyperplastic marrow showed a similar degree of 14C-leucine incorporation while a threefold higher activity was demonstrated in mitochondria from erythroid marrow. The incorporation was mitochondrial-concentration-dependent and in all cases was inhibited by low concentrations of chloramphenicol (CAP). The respiratory activity of mitochondria isolated from either myeloid or erythroid marrow was twice as high as the normal, but in all cases respiration and phosphorylation were unaffected by concentrations of CAP which totally inhibited protein synthesis.