Formation of mammalian preribosomes proceeds from intermediate to composed state during ribosome maturation

In eukaryotes, ribosome assembly is a rate-limiting step in ribosomal biogenesis that takes place in a distinctive subnuclear organelle, the nucleolus. How ribosomes get assembled at the nucleolar site by forming initial preribosomal complexes remains poorly characterized. In this study, using several human and murine cell lines, we developed a method for isolation of native mammalian preribosomal complexes by lysing cell nuclei through mild sonication. A sucrose gradient fractionation of the nuclear lysate resolved several ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes containing rRNAs and ribosomal proteins. Characterization of the RNP complexes with MS-based protein identification and Northern blotting– based rRNA detection approaches identified two types of preribosomes we named here as intermediate preribosomes (IPRibs) and composed preribosome (CPRib). IPRib complexes comprised large preribosomes (105S to 125S in size) containing the rRNA modification factors and premature rRNAs. We further observed that a distinctive CPRib complex consists of an 85S preribosome assembled with mature rRNAs and a ribosomal biogenesis factor, Ly1 antibody–reactive (LYAR), that does not associate with premature rRNAs and rRNA modification factors. rRNA-labeling experiments uncovered that IPRib assembly precedes CPRib complex formation. We also found that formation of the preribosomal complexes is nutrient-dependent because the abundances of IPRib and CPRib decreased substantially when cells were either deprived of amino acids or exposed to an mTOR kinase inhibitor. These findings indicate that preribosomes form via dynamic and nutrient-dependent processing events and progress from an intermediate to a composed state during ribosome maturation.