EFFECT OF VARIOUS COMPOUNDS RELATED TO EMETINE ON HEPATIC PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN RAT

The intraperitoneal administration of emetine, 2,3-dehydroemetine, or cephaeline to rats has a stimulating effect on the labeled l-amino acid incorporation into protein in an incubation system in vitro using miorosomal fractions prepared from the livers of animals 24 hr after pretreatment. When these same compounds are added directly to the system in vitro, amino acid incorporation can be inhibited almost completely even in incubations using stimulated liver microsomal preparations from pretreated animals. The incorporation of labeled l-amino acid into liver protein in vivo is inhibited at 2 hr after pretreatment of rats with emetine, 2,3-dehydroemetine, or cephaeline. None of these effects are observed in corresponding experiments at equimolar levels with isoemetine or with O-methylpsychotrine, both of which are also structurally related to emetine, without however possessing the same stereochemical configuration as the parent compound at C-1′. © 1969.