RESUMO
Yeast p20 is a small, acidic protein that binds eIF4E, the cap-binding protein. It has been proposed to affect mRNA translation and degradation, however p20's function as an eIF4E-binding protein (4E-BP) and its physiological significance has not been clearly established. In this paper we present data demonstrating that p20 is capable of binding directly to mRNA due to electrostatic interaction of a stretch of arginine and histidine residues in the protein with negatively charged phosphates in the mRNA backbone. This interaction contributes to formation of a ternary eIF4E/p20/capped mRNA complex that is more stable than complexes composed of capped mRNA bound to eIF4E in the absence of p20. eIF4E/p20 complex was found to have a more pronounced stimulatory effect on capped mRNA translation than purified eIF4E alone. Addition of peptides containing the eIF4E-binding domains present in p20 (motif âYTIDELF), in eIF4G (motif âYGPTFLL) or Eap1 (motif âYSMNELY) completely inhibited eIF4E-dependent capped mRNA translation (in vitro), but had a greatly reduced inhibitory effect when eIF4E/p20 complex was present. We propose that the eIF4E/p20/mRNA complex serves as a stable depository of mRNAs existing in a dynamic equilibrium with other complexes such as eIF4E/eIF4G (required for translation) and eIF4E/Eap1 (required for mRNA degradation).
Assuntos
Fator de Iniciação 4E em Eucariotos/química , Complexo Proteico Nuclear de Ligação ao Cap/química , RNA Mensageiro/química , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Fatores de Complexo Ternário/química , Sequência de Aminoácidos/genética , Arginina/química , Sítios de Ligação , Fator de Iniciação 4E em Eucariotos/genética , Histidina/química , Complexo Proteico Nuclear de Ligação ao Cap/genética , Motivos de Nucleotídeos/genética , Ligação Proteica/genética , Estabilidade de RNA/genética , RNA Mensageiro/genética , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Fatores de Complexo Ternário/genéticaRESUMO
Eukaryotic initiation factor 2A (eIF2A) is a 65-kDa protein that was first identified in the early 1970s as a factor capable of stimulating initiator methionyl-tRNAi (Met-tRNAMeti) binding to 40S ribosomal subunits in vitro. However, in contrast to the eIF2, which stimulates Met-tRNAMeti binding to 40S ribosomal subunits in a GTP-dependent manner, eIF2A didn't reveal any GTP-dependence, but instead was found to direct binding of the Met-tRNAMeti to 40S ribosomal subunits in a codon-dependent manner. eIF2A appears to be highly conserved across eukaryotic species, suggesting conservation of function in evolution. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae eIF2A null mutant revealed no apparent phenotype, however, it was found that in yeast eIF2A functions as a suppressor of internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-mediated translation. It was thus suggested that eIF2A my act by impinging on the expression of specific mRNAs. Subsequent studies in mammalian cell systems implicated eIF2A in non-canonical (non-AUG-dependent) translation initiation events involving near cognate UUG and CUG codons. Yet, the role of eIF2A in cellular functions remains largely enigmatic. As a first step toward characterization of the eIF2A function in mammalian systems in vivo, we have obtained homozygous eIF2A-total knockout (KO) mice, in which a gene trap cassette was inserted between eIF2A exons 1 and 2 disrupting expression of all exons downstream of the insertion. The KO mice strain is viable and to date displays no apparent phenotype. We believe that the eIF2A KO mice strain will serve as a valuable tool for researchers studying non-canonical initiation of translation in vivo.