Effect of histone H5 on RNA synthesis in leukemic cells and on the translation process in vitro

: The effects of the erythrocyte-specific histone H5 from chicken erythrocytes on HnRNA synthesis in splenocytes of Rauscher virus-infected mice were studied. It was shown that histone H5 represses the synthesis of 35S RNA typical of the Rauscher virus-producing cells but does not influence the synthesis of other HnRNA fractions. The effects of H5 and other histones on the effectiveness of poly(U) translation in a cell-free system of wheat embryos were investigated. Structurally similar histones H1 and H5 exert the strongest inhibiting action on translation. It was assumed that the previously described antileukemic action of histone H5 is realized at the levels of transcription and translation.