Protein Phosphorylation in Translational Control

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role played by protein phosphorylation in the control of translation. Research has continued to center on its role in the regulation of translation in mammalian cells; therefore, there is an unavoidable bias toward that direction. Nevertheless, it is very probable that similar, and no doubt additional, regulatory mechanisms operate in most other eukaryotic species. The process of mRNA translation is conventionally divided into three distinct phases termed (peptide-chain) initiation, elongation, and termination. Initiation, which appears to be the most complex of these processes, corresponds to the binding of the ribosome to mRNA and the selection of the initiation start codon. In elongation, the polypeptide chain is synthesized and termination results in the release of the completed polypeptide and the dissociation of the ribosome from the mRNA. It is generally accepted that the control of translation is exerted principally at the level of peptide-chain initiation. The control of translation can be regarded either as quantitative, when it affects overall rates of protein synthesis, or qualitative, when rates of translation of individual messages are subjected to control.