A three-step detergent/salt extraction procedure (Vedeler et al., Mol Cell Biochem 100: 183-193, 1991) was used to isolate free polysomes (FP), cytoskeletal-bound polysomes (CBP) and membrane-bound polysomes (MBP) from MPC-11 and Krebs II ascites cells. Polysomes were pelleted, washed with high salt buffer and re-pelleted. Proteins in the dialysed high-salt extracts were subjected to poly(A) Sepharose chromatography and poly(A) binding and non-binding proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE. In MPC-11 cells the FP fraction contains thirteen poly(A) binding proteins and four non-poly(A) binding proteins while the corresponding fraction in Krebs II ascites cells has four poly(A) binding proteins and six proteins which do not bind poly(A). The CBP fraction isolated from MPC-11 cells has a complement of ten poly(A) binding proteins, four which are non-poly(A) binding, and a protein of 105 kDa which has both poly(A) binding and non-poly(A) binding properties. In the CBP fraction prepared from Krebs II ascites cells a protein band at 32 kDa exhibits both poly(A) binding and non-poly(A) binding properties. In this fraction there are six poly(A) binding proteins and an additional eight which do not bind poly(A). Of the total number of proteins eight of these have a molecular weight below 40 kDa. The MBP fraction in MPC-11 cells contains three poly(A) binding proteins and eleven with non-poly(A) binding properties. In contrast this fraction in Krebs II ascites cells has a complement of thirteen poly(A) binding and ten non-poly(A) binding proteins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)