Protein synthesis in the mammalian retina following the intravenous administration of LSD

Polysomes in the retina of the rabbit eye are disaggregated to monosomes following the intravenous injection of LSD. The effect is rapid in onset with maximal disaggregation by 1 h ande transient in duration with recovery to normal polysome levels by 4 h. Analysis of the mechanism of LSD-induced polysome disaggregation indicates that it is not the result of RNAase degradation of polysomal mRNS. In vivo labeling studies demonstrate that LSD induces an increased synthesis of retinal proteins of molecular weight 74,000 (74K) and 95,000 (95K) at a time when overall protein synthesis in the retina is reduced. Translation of purified retinal polysomes in a cell-free protein synthesis system and resolution of labeled proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and fluorography reveals that LSD selectively increases the relative abundance of polysomal mRNA coding for the 74K and 95K retinal proteins.