ABSTRACT
The in vivo and in vitro stimulation of rat hepatic mitochondrial protein synthesis by thyroxine (T4) was compared. In confirmation of Buchanan & Tapley (1966). T4 added to isolated mitochondria rapidly stimulated [14C] leucine incorporation into mitochondrial protein. The in vitro stimulation was reversed after T4 was removed by incubating the mitochondria with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The decrease in T4 stimulation of protein synthesis appeared proportional to the T4 removed by BSA. Thus, it appears probable that exchangeable T4 controls the in vitro system. In contrast, the increase in mitochondrial protein synthesis which was observed 3 to 4 days after pretreatment of hypothyroid rats with labelled and non-radioactive T4 was not reversed by BSA treatment. Moreover, mitochondrial radioactivity could not be extracted with albumin. The in vivo phenomenon does not, therefore, appear to be related to exchangeable hormone in the mitochondria. Furthermore, the estimated quantity of T4 associated with mitochondria after in vivo stimulation was at least two orders of magnitude less than that required to produce comparable stimulation of mitochondrial protein synthesis in vitro. These findings strongly suggest that in vitro and in vivo stimulation of amino acid incorporation by T4 may be mediated by different biochemical mechanisms.
