Mescaline-induced changes of brain-cortex ribosomes. Role of spermidine in counteracting the destabilizing effect of mescaline on brain-cortex ribosomes

Adding spermidine to goat brain-cortex slices during treatment with the hallucinogen mescaline partially protects ribosomes from damage. Mescaline alone removes some endogenous spermidine from ribosomes, destabilizes them against heat, makes them more prone to breakdown, and causes loss of ribosomal protein, RNA, and enzymatic activities. Spermidine present during mescaline treatment significantly prevents the removal of endogenous spermidine, moderately counteracts the destabilizing effect and the increased susceptibility to breakdown, and reduces the loss of enzymatic activities. Ribosomes from mescaline-treated slices are rapidly degraded by ribonuclease and trypsin, but the presence of spermidine during treatment slows this degradation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

1. The effect of spermidine on the mescaline-induced changes of brain-cortex ribosomes was studied by adding spermidine during the treatment of goat brain-cortex slices with mescaline. 2. Mescaline treatment of brain-cortex slices removed a portion of the endogenous spermidine from ribosomes and this removal was significantly prevented when spermidine was present during mescaline treatment. 3. Spermidine present during mescaline treatment of brain-cortex slices counteracted, to some extent, the destabilizing effect of mescaline on ribosomes with respect to heat denaturation. 4. Mescaline treatment of brain-cortex slices made ribosomes more susceptible to breakdown, releasing protein and RNA, and resulting in loss of ribosomal enzymic activities. However, spermidine present during mescaline treatment counteracted moderately the mescaline-induced ribosomal susceptibility to breakdown and ribosomal loss of enzymic activities. 5. Ribosomes of mescaline-treated cortex slices were rapidly degraded by ribonuclease and trypsin. However, if spermidine was present during mescaline treatment of brain-cortex slices the rates of degradation diminished.