Translational Control: Overview

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Search this pathway for protein information from PhosphoSitePlus^®, our expert-curated knowledge base of protein phosphorylation and other post-translational modifications.

Pathway Description:

The synthesis of new protein is a highly regulated process that allows rapid cellular responses to diverse stimuli post-transcriptionally. Eukaryotic [translation] initiation factors (eIFs) catalyze the assembly of a functional ribosomal complex, which includes the 40S subunit, mRNA and tRNA, and finally the 60S subunit before the first peptide bond is formed. Most regulatory stimuli, such as growth factors and stress, control rate-limiting steps of the initiation process by either stimulating or inhibiting specific eIFs. Elevated levels of Ca²⁺ or cAMP can also attenuate translation by blocking the action of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2).

Selected Reviews:

• Gebauer F, Hentze MW (2004) Molecular mechanisms of translational control. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 5(10), 827–35.
• Sonenberg N, Hinnebusch AG (2009) Regulation of translation initiation in eukaryotes: mechanisms and biological targets. Cell 136(4), 731–45.
• Spirin AS (2009) How does a scanning ribosomal particle move along the 5'-untranslated region of eukaryotic mRNA? Brownian Ratchet model. Biochemistry 48(45), 10688–92.
• Steitz TA (2008) A structural understanding of the dynamic ribosome machine. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 9(3), 242–53.

We would like to thank Prof. Nahum Sonenberg and Mark Livingstone, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, for reviewing this diagram.