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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1982 Apr;79(7):2147–2151. doi: 10.1073/pnas.79.7.2147

Regulation of protein synthesis by phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha in intact reticulocytes and reticulocyte lysates.

A Leroux, I M London
PMCID: PMC346147  PMID: 6954531

Abstract

Studies in intact rabbit reticulocytes and reticulocyte lysates provide further evidence of a functional role for the phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF-2 alpha) in the regulation of initiation of protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. In intact reticulocytes treated with isonicotinic acid hydrazide to inhibit heme synthesis, the phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha was significantly greater than in control cells. In heme-deficient reticulocyte lysates and in lysates treated with double-stranded RNA, significant phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha occurred prior to the onset of inhibition of protein synthesis; a large proportion, however, of the total eIF-2 alpha remained unphosphorylated. These findings indicate that a modest concentration of phosphorylated eIF-2 alpha can suffice to inhibit initiation, and they suggest that one of the factors with which eIF-2 must interact may be rate limiting, especially when eIF-2 alpha is phosphorylated.

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Selected References

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