Hepatic ligandin subunits and mRNAs during development.

Eight-week-old rats had twofold higher hepatic ligandin concentration than 10-day-old animals as determined immunologically and by steroid isomerase and glutathione S-transferase assays. Increased ligandin content was accompanied by parallel increase in subunit synthesis as determined by [3H]leucine incorporation into each subunit relative to incorporation into total cytosolic proteins. The mRNA content for each ligandin subunit was twofold higher in older animals as determined by cell-free in vitro translation followed by immunoprecipitation and dot hybridization using a ligandin cDNA probe.