Tryptophan Binding to Cellular Organelles of Liver

Tryptophan rapidly becomes incorporated into proteins, and it also binds to proteins of liver cells, particularly to proteins of the nuclear envelopes.44 Increased in vitro bindings of [3H] tryptophan to proteins (TCA-precipitable) of nuclei and cytosols of livers of tryptophan-treated (10 min) rats were observed, and this reaction appears to correlate with enhanced in vitro release of hepatic nuclear RNA and increased nuclear NTPase and protein 

Baglia and Maul158 indicated that a glycoprotein, identified as lamin B, is a major component of the nuclear envelope and nuclear matrix. This glycoprotein may not only be a structural nuclear protein but also may have NTPase activity, which is essential in nucleocytoplasmic transport. Whether changes in the lamin B of liver nuclear envelopes of rats treated with tryptophan occurs is unclear. 

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