Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A induces anoikis by triggering cell detachment.

Anoikis, apoptosis because of loss of cell anchorage, is crucial for tissue homeostasis. Fibronectin not only provides a scaffold for cell anchorage but also harbors a cryptic antiadhesive site capable of inducing ß1-integrin inactivation. In this study, this cryptic antiadhesive site is implicated in spontaneous induction of anoikis. Nontransformed fibroblasts (NIH3T3) adhering to a fibronectin substratum underwent anoikis during serum starvation culture. This anoikis was caused by proteolytic exposure of the cryptic antiadhesive site in fibronectin by matrix metalloproteinase. Eukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) was identified as a membrane receptor for the exposed antiadhesive site. Serum starvation raised the membrane residence of eEF1A, and siRNA-based disruption of this increase rendered cells anoikis-resistant. By contrast, cells became more susceptible to anoikis in parallel with increased membrane residence of eEF1A by enforced expression. These results demonstrate that eEF1A acts as a membrane receptor for the cryptic antiadhesive site of fibronectin, which contributes to cell regulation, including anoikis, through negative regulation of cell anchorage.

Localization of actin filaments on mitotic apparatus in tobacco BY-2 cells.

Actin filaments are among the major components of the cytoskeleton, and participate in various cellular dynamic processes. However, conflicting results had been obtained on the localization of actin filaments on the mitotic apparatus and their participation in the process of chromosome segregation. We demonstrated by using rhodamine-phalloidin staining, the localization of actin filaments on the mitotic spindles of tobacco BY-2 cells when the cells were treated with cytochalasin D. At prophase, several clear spots were observed at or near the kinetochores of the chromosomes. At anaphase, the actin filaments that appeared to be pulling chromosomes toward the division poles were demonstrated. However, as there was a slight possibility that these results might have been the artifacts of cytochalasin D treatment or the phalloidin staining, we analyzed the localization of actin filaments at the mitotic apparatus immunologically. We cloned a novel BY-2 alpha-type actin cDNA and prepared a BY-2 actin antibody. The fluorescence of the anti-BY-2 actin antibody was clearly observed at the mitotic apparatus in both non-treated and cytochalasin D-treated BY-2 cells during mitosis. The facts that similar results were obtained in both actin staining with rhodamine-phalloidin and immunostaining with actin antibody strongly indicate the participation of actin in the organization of the spindle body or in the process of chromosome segregation. Furthermore, both filamentous actin and spindle bodies disappeared in the cells treated with propyzamide, which depolymerizes microtubules, supporting the notion that actin filaments are associated with microtubules organizing the spindle body.

Interaction between elongation factors 1beta and 1gamma from Bombyx mori silk gland.

Elongation factor 1 (EF-1) from the silk gland of Bombyx mori consists of four subunits: alpha (51 kDa), beta (26 kDa), gamma (49 kDa), and delta (33 kDa). The EF-1alpha subunit catalyzes the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to the ribosome concomitant with the hydrolysis of GTP. The EF-1alpha-bound GDP is then exchanged for GTP by the EF-1betagammadelta complex. To facilitate analysis of the roles of the individual EF-1beta, gamma, and delta subunits in GDP/GTP exchange on EF-1alpha, we cloned the cDNAs for these subunits and expressed them in Escherichia coli. EF-1beta, EF-1gamma, and the carboxyl-terminal half of EF-1delta were expressed, purified, and examined for protein:protein interactions by gel filtration chromatography and by a quartz-crystal microbalance method. An 80-kDa species containing EF-1beta and gamma subunits in a 1:1 molar ratio was detected by gel filtration. A higher molecular weight species containing an excess of EF-1gamma relative to EF-1beta was also detected. The amino-terminal region of EF-1beta (amino acid residues 1-129) was sufficient for binding to EF-1gamma. The carboxyl-terminal half of EF-1delta did not appear to form a complex with EF-1gamma.

Cloning and expression of Bombyx mori silk gland elongation factor 1gamma in Escherichia coli.

Elongation factor 1 (EF-1) from the silk gland of Bombyx mori consists of alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and delta-subunits. EF-1alpha GTP catalyzes the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosomes concomitant with the hydrolysis of GTP. EF-1betagammadelta catalyzes the exchange of EF-1alpha-bound GDP for exogenous GTP and stimulates the EF-1alpha-dependent binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to ribosomes. EF-1gamma cDNA, which contains an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide of 423 amino acid residues, was amplified and cloned by PCR from a silk gland cDNA library. The calculated molecular mass and predicted pI of the product were 48,388 Da and 5.84, respectively. The silk gland EF-1gamma shares 67.3% amino acid identity with Artemia salina EF-lgamma. The N-terminal domain (amino acid residues 1-211) of silk gland EF-lgamma is 29.3% identical to maize glutathione S-transferase. We demonstrated that silk gland EF-lgamma bound to glutathione Sepharose, suggesting that the N-terminal domain of EF-1gamma may have the capacity to bind to glutathione.

Moonlighting functions of polypeptide elongation factor 1: from actin bundling to zinc finger protein R1-associated nuclear localization.

Eukaryotic polypeptide elongation factor EF-1 is not only a major translational factor, but also one of the most important multifunctional (moonlighting) proteins. EF-1 consists of four different subunits collectively termed EF-1alphabeta beta'gamma and EF-1alphabeta gammadelta in plants and animals, respectively. EF-1alpha x GTP catalyzes the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to the A-site of the ribosome. EF-1beta beta'gamma (EF-1beta and EF-1beta'), catalyzes GDP/GTP exchange on EF-1alpha x GDP to regenerate EF-1alpha x GTP. EF-1gamma has recently been shown to have glutathione S-transferase activity. EF-2 catalyzes the translocation of peptidyl-tRNA from the A-site to the P-site on the ribosome. Recently, molecular mimicry among tRNA, elongation factors, releasing factor (RF), and ribosome recycling factor (RRF) has been demonstrated and greatly improved our understanding of the mechanism of translation. Moreover, eukaryotic elongation factors have been shown to be concerned or likely to be concerned in various important cellular processes or serious diseases, including translational control, signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization, apoptosis, adult atopic dermatitis, oncogenic transformation, nutrition, and nuclear processes such as RNA synthesis and mitosis. This article aims to overview the recent advances in protein biosynthesis, concentrating on the moonlighting functions of EF-1.