scholarly journals Caspase-mediated cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor subunit 2α

1999 ◽  
Vol 342 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinya SATOH ◽  
Makoto HIJIKATA ◽  
Hiroshi HANDA ◽  
Kunitada SHIMOTOHNO
Keyword(s):  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Translation Initiation ◽  
Caspase 3 ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation ◽  
Initiation Of Translation ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF-2α), a target molecule of the interferon-inducible double-stranded-RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), was cleaved in apoptotic Saos-2 cells on treatment with poly(I)˙poly(C) or tumour necrosis factor α. This cleavage occurred with a time course similar to that of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, a well-known caspase substrate. In addition, eIF-2α was cleaved by recombinant active caspase-3 in vitro. By site-directed mutagenesis, the cleavage site was mapped to an Ala-Glu-Val-Asp300 ↓ Gly301 sequence located in the C-terminal portion of eIF-2α. PKR phosphorylates eIF-2α on Ser51, resulting in the suppression of protein synthesis. PKR-mediated translational suppression was repressed when the C-terminally cleaved product of eIF-2α was overexpressed in Saos-2 cells, even though PKR can phosphorylate this cleaved product. These results suggest that caspase-3 or related protease(s) can modulate the efficiency of protein synthesis by cleaving the α subunit of eIF-2, a key component in the initiation of translation.

scholarly journals Implications of the Use of Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 5A (eIF5A) for Prognosis and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix H. Shek ◽  
Sarwat Fatima ◽  
Nikki P. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Translation Initiation ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation ◽  
Initiation Of Translation ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation ◽  
Hcc Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver malignancy and accounts for most of the total liver cancer cases. Lack of treatment options and late diagnosis contribute to high mortality rate of HCC. In eukaryotes, translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) to protein is a key process in protein biosynthesis in which initiation of translation involves interaction of different eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIFs), ribosome subunits and mRNAs. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is one of the eIFs involved in translation initiation and eIF5A2, one of its isoforms, is upregulated in various cancers including HCC as a result of chromosomal instability, where it resides. In HCC, eIF5A2 expression is associated with adverse prognosis such as presence of tumor metastasis and venous infiltration. Based on eIF5A2 functional studies, suppressing eIF5A2 expression by short interfering RNA alleviates the tumorigenic properties of HCC cellsin vitrowhile ectopic expression of eIF5A2 enhances the aggressiveness of HCC cellsin vivoandin vitroby inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In conclusion, eIF5A2 is a potential prognostic marker as well as a therapeutic target for HCC.

scholarly journals The 39-kilodalton subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 is essential for the complex's integrity and for cell viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Naranda ◽  
M Kainuma ◽  
S E MacMillan ◽  
J W Hershey
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Translation Initiation ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation ◽  
Initiation Phase ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor 3

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae comprises about eight polypeptides and plays a central role in the binding of methionyl-tRNAi and mRNA to the 40S ribosomal subunit. The fourth largest subunit, eIF3-p39, was gel purified, and a 12-amino-acid tryptic peptide was sequenced, enabling the cloning of the TIF34 gene. TIF34 encodes a 38,753-Da protein that corresponds to eIF3-p39 in size and antigenicity. Disruption of TIF34 is lethal, and depletion of eIF3-p39 by glucose repression of TIF34 expressed from a GAL promoter results in cessation of cell growth. As eIF3-p39 levels fall, polysomes become smaller, indicating a role for eIF3-p39 in the initiation phase of protein synthesis. Unexpectedly, depletion results in degradation of all of the subunit proteins of eIF3 at a rate much faster than the normal turnover rates of these proteins. eIF3-p39 has 46% sequence identity with the p36 subunit of human eIF3. Both proteins are members of the WD-repeat family of proteins, possessing five to seven repeat elements. Taken together, the results indicate that eIF3-p39 plays an important, although not necessarily direct, role in the initiation phase of protein synthesis and suggest that it may be required for the assembly and maintenance of the eIF3 complex in eukaryotic cells.

scholarly journals Activation-dependent substrate recruitment by the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 kinase PERK

2006 ◽  
Vol 172 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan J. Marciniak ◽  
Lidia Garcia-Bonilla ◽  
Junjie Hu ◽  
Heather P. Harding ◽  
David Ron
Keyword(s):  
Er Stress ◽  
Translation Initiation ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Initiation Factor ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation ◽  
Initiation Factor 2 ◽  
Eukaryotic Translation Initiation ◽  
Translation Initiation Factor 2

Regulated phosphorylation of the α subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-activated protein kinase PERK modulates protein synthesis and couples the production of ER client proteins with the organelle's capacity to fold and process them. PERK activation by ER stress is known to involve transautophosphorylation, which decorates its unusually long kinase insert loop with multiple phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues. We report that PERK activation and phosphorylation selectively enhance its affinity for the nonphosphorylated eIF2 complex. This switch correlates with a marked change to the protease sensitivity pattern, which is indicative of a major conformational change in the PERK kinase domain upon activation. Although it is dispensable for catalytic activity, PERK's kinase insert loop is required for substrate binding and for eIF2α phosphorylation in vivo. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism for eIF2 recruitment by activated PERK and for unidirectional substrate flow in the phosphorylation reaction.

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