A membrane protein fraction having a high affinity for polyribosomes was isolated from microsomal membranes of rat liver and was incorporated into liposomes made from microsomal lipids to evaluate the polyribosome-binding capacity of the reconstituted liposomes, with the following results. (1) The polyribosome binding to the reconstituted liposomes depended on the amounts of polyribosomes added to the binding mixture. (2) Liposomes made from lipids alone did not bind any polyribosomes. (3) The polyribosome-binding capacity of the reconstituted liposomes was very sensitive to proteolytic enzyme and strongly inhibited by addition of 0.1 mM-aurintricarboxylic acid or by increasing KCl concentration. These results suggest that the binding mechanism of polyribosomes to the reconstituted liposomes is much like that for rough microsomal membrane stripped of endogenous polyribosomes.
