The phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 in rat tissues following cycloheximide injection, in diabetes, and after denervation of diaphragm. A simple immunological determination of the extent of S6 phosphorylation on protein blots.

The extent of phosphorylation of S6 was measured in a variety of cells, organs, and tissues using a simplified procedure. Ribosomal proteins were separated by electrophoresis on a one-dimensional urea-sodium dodecyl sulfate gel. They were transferred electrophoretically to nitrocellulose, and S6 was specifically stained by means of its reaction with a monoclonal antibody. The mobility of the stained protein was shown to be a measure of the extent of its phosphorylation. Using this method, we found that cycloheximide injection of rats gives rise to the phosphorylation of S6 in a variety of organs and tissues: diaphragm, heart and skeletal muscle liver and kidney, but not brain. Diabetes induced with alloxan did not result in the phosphorylation of S6 in any of the tissues examined, and subsequent insulin injection resulted in a slight increase in the phosphorylation of S6 in liver. Insulin injection in normal rats also caused the phosphorylation of liver S6. Unilateral denervation of rat diaphragm resulted in phosphorylation of S6 in the denervated portion but not in the innervated portion of the diaphragm.