Preferential Synthesis of Ferritin and Albumin by Different Populations of Liver Polysomes

Free polysomes and a mixture of free and membrane-attached polysomes were isolated separately from rat liver, and each was added to a cell-free, protein-synthesizing system. The free polysomes showed a greater capacity than the mixed polysome population for incorporation of 14 C-leucine into ferritin, whereas the reverse was true for 14 C-leucine incorporation into albumin.