RESUMEN
A comparative study on the localization of cytosolic Trp-tRNA synthetase (TrpRS), aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases associated in a multienzyme complex (Glu-tRNA synthetase (GluRS), and Arg-tRNA synthetase (ArgRS)) and polypeptides p37 and p43 from the multienzyme complex was carried out on ultrathin sections of cultured rabbit cells RK-1 by means of immunogold technique. It is shown that GluRS, ArgRS, and polypeptide p43 have approximately the same distribution in the cell as TrpRS. The data obtained evidences in favour of a multienzyme structure of most (or, may be all) aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in intact cells. A statistical analysis of enzyme distribution in different cell organelles showed nonrandom, compartmentalized distribution of studied synthetases in the mammalian cell. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases were found in the cell nucleus in the vicinity of interchromatin granules and in the regions of diffused chromatin. This fact points to a role which these proteins may play in active chromatin functions (transcription, processing, transfer of gene products, etc.) and needs special attention. Detection of ArgRS and GluRS in the nucleus allows one to suggest that either multienzyme synthetase complexes are present not only in the cytoplasm, but also in the nucleus, or these enzymes can dissociate from the complex and pass to the nucleus as individual proteins.
