Dendritic RNA and postsynaptic density formation in chick cerebellar synaptogenesis

In order to investigate the ribosomal origin of the postsynaptic densities during chick cerebellar maturation, a new procedure for synaptosomal preparation was implemented. Samples from embryonic chick cerebellar cortex, from 14 to 20 days of development and young adult chicks, were initially mechanically dissociated after treatment with 1.25% trypsin for 10 min; with this procedure we were able to obtain a dendritic suspension from which an enriched synaptosomal fraction was prepared in a discontinuous Ficoll-sucrose gradient. RNA and protein values determined from the synaptosomal fractions showed the following variations: from 46.3 ng RNA/mg of wet weight at day 14 to 616.7 ng RNA/mg of wet weight at day 18; in young adult chicks, the average was 242 ng RNA/mg of wet weight. RNA/protein ratio varied from 78.9 μg RNA/mg protein at day 16 to 329.8 μg RNA/mg protein at day 18; in the young adult chick, this ratio decreased to 68.4 μg RNA/mg protein. The highest value of RNA was obtained at day 18 of chick embryo development coinciding with the maximum period of synaptic formation and consequently of the PSDs. These results seem to reinforce the hypothesis of the ribosomal origin of the PSDs.