Journal: The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Article Title: Ribosome Elongation Stall Directs Gene-specific Translation in the Integrated Stress Response *
doi: 10.1074/jbc.M115.705640
Figure Lengend Snippet: Translation of the CHOP uORF results in a ribosome elongation stall that is dependent on an Ile-Phe-Ile sequence. A, depiction of toeprint design using the last 30 nucleotides of the CHOP uORF inserted in-frame between the rabbit α-globin and luciferase coding sequences to generate α-globin-CHOP-Luc fusion mRNA. Mutant versions of α-globin-CHOP-Luc mRNA include frameshift of the 30 nucleotides corresponding to the CHOP uORF (FS), mutation of the Ile-Phe-Ile codons to those encoding Ala-Ala-Ala (IFI), and insertion of a TGA stop codon just following the 30 CHOP uORF nucleotides (STOP). The black arrow depicted above the WT α-globin-CHOP-Luc mRNA represents the location of the primer used in B. Toeprints corresponding to ribosome initiation at the start codon for the WT and mutant α-globin-CHOP-Luc mRNAs are represented by a green star. Toeprints corresponding to an ribosome elongation stall for the WT, FS, and IFI mRNAs are represented by a yellow star. Toeprints corresponding to an elongation stall and ribosome termination for the STOP mRNA are represented by a blue star and a red octagon, respectively. B, cell-free translation extracts were treated with cycloheximide upon addition of WT or mutant versions of the α-globin-CHOP-Luc mRNA to measure initiating ribosomes (time 0), 15 min after addition of the transcript to measure ribosome localization during steady-state translation (time 15 min), or left untreated to measure prolonged ribosomal stalls that present without the use of an elongation inhibitor (time -). Toeprint assays were conducted for each sample, and sequencing reactions can be read 5′ to 3′ from top to bottom. The nucleotide complementary to the dideoxynucleotide added to each sequencing reaction is listed on the left, below the first four lanes. The products from control primer extension assays in the absence of RNA (−RNA) or in the absence of cell-free translation extracts are indicated on the right. The green star represents the toeprint corresponding to initiation at the α-globin-CHOP-Luc fusion, the yellow and blue stars represent prominent ribosome elongation stalls, and the red octagon represents the toeprint corresponding to termination at the introduced stop codon. The green boxes on the left span the sequences corresponding to the α-globin, CHOP uORF, and luciferase CDS and are comparable to the α-globin-CHOP-Luc schematic in A. Mutant constructs are the same listed in A, and the data are representative of three independent biological experiments. C, WT and mutant versions of Renilla-uORF-Luc were transfected into MEF cells and treated for 6 h with thapsigargin or left untreated. CHOP translation control was measured via a Dual-Luciferase assay and corresponding CHOP-Luc mRNA was measured by qRT-PCR. The Renilla-uORF-Luc construct includes the last 30 nucleotide residues of the CHOP uORF inserted in-frame between the Renilla and firefly luciferase coding sequences. Mutant versions of CHOP-Luc include frameshift of the 30 nucleotide segment corresponding to the CHOP uORF, mutation of the Ile-Phe-Ile codons to those encoding Ala-Ala-Ala, and insertion of a TGA stop codon just following the 30 nucleotide CHOP uORF segment. Relative values are represented as histograms for each, with the S.D. indicated. The following values represent firefly luciferase activity normalized for mRNA from the WT and mutant versions of CHOP-Luc reporters. The following features the no stress values, stress values, and then in parentheses the induction ratios: WT, 1, 0.9 (0.9); frameshift, 4, 4.1 (1); IFI to AAA, 1.6, 1.5 (0.9); and TGA insertion, 0.1, 0.1 (1). D, model for CHOP translation control. In the absence of stress, low eIF2α-P, and high eIF2-GTP, ribosomes scan the 5′-leader of the CHOP mRNA and initiate translation at the CHOP uORF. During translation of the uORF, elongating ribosomes are stalled at an Ile-Phe-Ile sequence, as depicted by the IFI sequence and black bar adjacent to the elongating ribosome in the uORF. The ribosome stall would preclude ribosome reinitiation downstream at the CHOP CDS. In the presence of stress and induced eIF2α-P, there would be lower levels of eIF2-GTP that would allow scanning ribosomes to bypass the CHOP uORF, in part because of its poor start codon context, and instead initiate translation at the CHOP CDS.
Article Snippet: Following fractionation, 10 ng/ml firefly luciferase control RNA (Promega) was spiked into each sample to measure shifts of CHOP transcript in the sucrose fractions that were normalized to an exogenous RNA control ( 14 , 16 ).
Techniques: Sequencing, Luciferase, Mutagenesis, Construct, Transfection, Quantitative RT-PCR, Activity Assay