Cell-free synthesis of the D2-cell adhesion molecule: evidence for three primary translation products.

The D2-cell adhesion molecule (D2-CAM) is a membrane glycoprotein that is involved in cell-cell adhesion in the nervous system. To study the biosynthesis of D2-CAM we have translated free and membrane-bound polysomes from rat brain in vitro in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. D2-CAM was exclusively synthesized on membrane-bound polysomes. The primary translation products of D2-CAM were three polypeptides of apparent molecular weights 187,000, 134,000, and 112,000. No interconversion between these polypeptides was detected. In contrast to previous suggestions, we conclude that all three D2-CAM polypeptides are primary translation products. When translating polysomes from embryonic and postnatal rat brain, we found that the relative amounts of the three polypeptides synthesized varied with age. Their molecular weights, however, were not age-dependent.