RNA has been isolated and fractionated from rat liver nuclei by a sequence of salt extractions into four subfractions: namely nucleoplasmic, deoxyribonucleoprotein-associated, ribonucleoprotein-associated, and nucleolar fractions.Study of 14C-methyl-methionine labeling indicates that the nucleolar RNA fraction isolated by the present procedure is, in fact, of nucleolar origin while the other three fractions are essentially of extranucleolar origin.The effects of growth hormone and hydrocortisone on the nuclear RNA synthesis have been further studied using the present isolation and double-labeling techniques. Both hormones cause an increase in the incorporation of labeled orotic acid into all types of RNA in all four nuclear subfractions. However, the stimulatory effect of growth hormone is found mainly in the 18–28 S and 45–60 S regions of the nucleolar fraction and in regions of the entire gradient of the nucleoplasmic fraction, whereas the stimulatory effect of hydrocortisone is localized mainly in the 10–28 S regions of the nucleolar fraction and in the 4 S and 10–18 S regions of the ribonucleoprotein fraction.The present report suggests that there are qualitative as well as quantitative differences in the action of growth hormone and hydrocortisone on the synthesis of RNA in liver nucleus. The mode of action of the two hormones is discussed.
Nuclear RNA synthesis in rat liver during the early stages of chemical carcinogenesis.