Translational control of terminal oligopyrimidine mRNAs requires a specific regulator

FEBS Lett. 1997 Oct 27;416(3):239-42. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)01209-x.

Abstract

Terminal oligopyrimidine (TOP) mRNAs are a group of messengers translationally regulated according to the growth status of the cell. Two hypotheses have been proposed for the mechanism of the regulation: (i) there is a specific translational regulator which can reversibly alter TOP-mRNA structure, (ii) a component of the general translational apparatus can specifically affect the translation of TOP-mRNAs. To verify one of the two hypotheses we induced a partial inhibition of translation initiation in Xenopus cultured cells and analyzed the effect on TOP-mRNA translation. Our results suggest that a specific regulator is necessary to explain the translational control of these of mRNAs.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Culture Media, Serum-Free
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Hot Temperature
  • Kidney
  • Kinetics
  • Models, Genetic
  • Pactamycin / pharmacology
  • Polyribosomes / drug effects
  • Polyribosomes / metabolism*
  • Protein Biosynthesis*
  • Protein Synthesis Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • RNA, Messenger / chemistry*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism*
  • Xenopus laevis

Substances

  • Culture Media, Serum-Free
  • Protein Synthesis Inhibitors
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Pactamycin