Cloning and expression of cDNAs for the beta subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor-2B, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor for eukaryotic initiation factor-2

Double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase, PKR, down-regulates CDC2/cyclin B1 and induces apoptosis in non-transformed but not in v-mos transformed cells

The interferon (IFN)-induced, double stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated serine/threonine kinase, PKR, is a potent negative regulator of cell growth when overexpressed in yeast or mammalian cells. Paradoxically, while it can function as a tumor suppressor and inducer of apoptosis, it is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. To resolve this enigma, we established cell-lines that overexpress PKR in non-transformed and in v-mos transformed CHO cells. Overexpression of PKR suppressed the proliferation of CHO cells by inducing a transient G0/G1 arrest, followed by a delayed G2/M arrest, which attenuated cell cycle progression. These effects were accompanied by early induction of p21/WAF-1 and delayed downregulation of CDC2 and cyclin B1. Induction of proapoptotic activity of the ectopic PKR paralleled the onset of G2/M arrest in CHO cells. However, while transiently inducing p21/WAF-1, PKR did not impose G2/M arrest or apoptosis in v-mos-transformed cells, nor was CDC2 or cyclin B1 down-regulated in those cells. These findings link the proapoptotic activity of PKR to the arrest of cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Consequently, the apoptotic activity of PKR could be counter-acted by an oncogene-like v-mos that overrides the G2/M arrest induced by PKR.

Characterization of the mammalian initiation factor eIF2B complex as a GDP dissociation stimulator protein

Initiation factor eIF2B mediates a key regulatory step in the initiation of mRNA translation, i.e. the regeneration of active eIF2.GTP complexes. It is composed of five subunits, alpha-epsilon. The largest of these (epsilon) displays catalytic activity in the absence of the others. The catalytic mechanism of eIF2B and the functions of the other subunits remain to be clarified. Here we show that, when present at similar concentrations to eIF2, mammalian eIF2B can mediate release of eIF2-bound GDP even in the absence of free nucleotide, indicating that it acts as a GDP dissociation stimulator protein. Consistent with this, addition of GDP to purified eIF2.eIF2B complexes causes them to dissociate. The alternative sequential mechanism would require that eIF2Bepsilon itself bind GTP. However, we show that it is the beta-subunit of eIF2B that interacts with GTP. This indicates that binding of GTP to eIF2B is not an essential element of its mechanism. eIF2B preparations that lack the alpha-subunit display reduced activity compared with the holocomplex. Supplementation of such preparations with recombinant eIF2Balpha markedly enhances activity, indicating that eIF2Balpha is required for full activity of mammalian eIF2B.

Subunit assembly and guanine nucleotide exchange activity of eukaryotic initiation factor-2B expressed in Sf9 cells

Eukaryotic initiation factor-2B (eIF-2B) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) that plays a key role in the regulation of protein synthesis. In this study, we have used the baculovirus-infected Sf9 insect cell system to express and characterize the five dissimilar subunits of rat eIF-2B. GEF activity was detected in extracts of Sf9 cells expressing the epsilon-subunit alone and was greatly increased when all five subunits were coexpressed. In addition, high GEF activity was observed in extracts containing a four-subunit complex lacking the alpha-subunit. Assembly of an eIF-2B holoprotein was confirmed by coimmunoprecipitation of all five subunits. Gel filtration chromatography revealed that recombinant eIF-2B had the same molecular mass as eIF-2B purified from rat liver and that it did indeed possess GEF activity. Phosphorylation of the substrate eIF-2 inhibited the GEF activity of the five-subunit eIF-2B; this inhibition required the eIF-2B alpha-subunit. The results demonstrate that eIF-2Balpha functions as a regulatory subunit that is not required for GEF activity, but instead mediates the regulation of eIF-2B by substrate phosphorylation. Furthermore, eIF-2Bepsilon is necessary and is perhaps sufficient for GEF activity in vitro.

Homologous segments in three subunits of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor eIF2B mediate translational regulation by phosphorylation of eIF2

eIF2B is a five-subunit guanine nucleotide exchange factor that is negatively regulated by phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of its substrate, eIF2, leading to inhibition of translation initiation. To analyze this regulatory mechanism, we have characterized 29 novel mutations in the homologous eIF2B subunits encoded by GCD2, GCD7, and GCN3 that reduce or abolish inhibition of eIF2B activity by eIF2 phosphorylated on its alpha subunit [eIF2(alphaP)]. Most, if not all, of the mutations decrease sensitivity to eIF2(alphaP) without excluding GCN3, the nonessential subunit, from eIF2B; thus, all three proteins are critical for regulation of eIF2B by eIF2(alphaP). The mutations are clustered at both ends of the homologous region of each subunit, within two segments each of approximately 70 amino acids in length. Several mutations alter residues at equivalent positions in two or all three subunits. These results imply that structurally similar segments in GCD2, GCD7, and GCN3 perform related functions in eIF2B regulation. We propose that these segments form a single domain in eIF2B that makes multiple contacts with the alpha subunit of eIF2, around the phosphorylation site, allowing eIF2B to detect and respond to phosphoserine at residue 51. Most of the eIF2 is phosphorylated in certain mutants, suggesting that these substitutions allow eIF2B to accept phosphorylated eIF2 as a substrate for nucleotide exchange.

eIF2B, the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor for eukaryotic initiation factor 2. Sequence conservation between the alpha, beta and delta subunits of eIF2B from mammals and yeast

The guanine nucleotide-exchange factor eIF2B mediates the exchange of GDP bound to translation initiation factor eIF2 for GTP. This exchange process is a key regulatory step for the control of translation initiation in eukaryotic organisms. To improve our understanding of the structure, function and regulation of eIF2B, we have obtained and sequenced cDNA species encoding all of its five subunits. Here we report the sequences of eIF2B beta and delta from rat. This paper focuses on sequence similarities between the alpha, beta and delta subunits of mammalian eIF2B. Earlier work showed that the amino acid sequences of the corresponding subunits of eIF2B in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (GCN3, GCD7 and GCD2) exhibit considerable similarity. We demonstrate that this is also true for the mammalian subunits. Moreover, alignment of the eIF2B alpha, beta and delta sequences from mammals and yeast, along with the sequence of the putative eIF2B alpha subunit from Caenorhabditis elegans and eIF2B delta from Schizosaccharomyces pombe shows that a large number of residues are identical or conserved between the C-terminal regions of all these sequences. This strong sequence conservation points to the likely functional importance of these residues. The implications of this are discussed in the light of results concerning the functions of the subunits of eIF2B in yeast and mammals. Our results also indicate that the large apparent differences in mobility on SDS/PAGE between eIF2B beta and delta subunits from rat and rabbit are not due to differences in their lengths but reflect differences in amino acid composition. We have also examined the relative expression of mRNA species encoding the alpha, beta, delta and epsilon subunits of eIF2B in a range of rat tissues by Northern blot analysis. As might be expected for mRNA species encoding subunits of a heterotrimeric protein, the ratios of expression levels of these subunits to one another did not vary between the different rat tissues examined (with the possible exception of liver). This represents the first analysis of the levels of expression of mRNA species encoding the different subunits of eIF2B.

Cloning of cDNA for the gamma-subunit of mammalian translation initiation factor 2B, the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor for eukaryotic initiation factor 2

Peptide sequence data were obtained from rabbit protein synthesis initiation factor subunit eIF2B gamma. Searching the database of expressed sequence tags (dbEST) revealed nucleotide sequences potentially encoding human eIF2B gamma that contained peptides corresponding to those from the rabbit subunit. PCR primers were derived from these sequences and used to generate a probe. This was used to screen a rat skeletal muscle cDNA library, and a clone encoding rat eIF2B gamma was isolated. This cDNA gave a product in coupled transcription/translation that co-migrated with the gamma-subunit of purified eIF2B under SDS/PAGE. The sequence of this rat eIF2B gamma cDNA is reported. The protein sequence shows homology with that of yeast eIF2B gamma (the GCD1 gene product). We have also identified an open reading frame from the Caenorhabditis elegans genome project that probably encodes the gamma-subunit of C. elegans eIF2B. All these sequences show similarity to nucleotidyl- and acyltransferases, as previously reported for GCD1 [Koonin (1995) Protein Sci. 4, 1608-1617], and contain conserved motifs potentially involved in nucleotide binding. They also contain "I-patch' motifs: isoleucine-rich hexamer repeats that have been associated with the binding of acyl groups in bacterial acyltransferases. The roles of these motifs are discussed in relation to the known properties of eIF2B.

Initiation of protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells

It is becoming increasingly apparent that translational control plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Most of the known physiological effects on translation are exerted at the level of polypeptide chain initiation. Research on initiation of translation over the past five years has yielded much new information, which can be divided into three main areas: (a) structure and function of initiation factors (including identification by sequencing studies of consensus domains and motifs) and investigation of protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions during initiation; (b) physiological regulation of initiation factor activities and (c) identification of features in the 5' and 3' untranslated regions of messenger RNA molecules that regulate the selection of these mRNAs for translation. This review aims to assess recent progress in these three areas and to explore their interrelationships.