Mutually exclusive binding of messenger RNA and initiator methionyl transfer RNA to eukaryotic initiation factor 2

Haim Rosen*, Raymond Kaempfer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2), purified to at least 98% homogeneity as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate, and containing no detectable amounts of eukaryotic initiation factor 4B (eIF-4B), is active both in the binding of Met-tRNA and in the binding of globin mRNA. The mRNA-binding activity is completely sensitive to competitive inhibition by Met-tRNA, provided GTP is present, but not by uncharged tRNA. By contrast, binding of mRNA to partially purified eIF-4B is not inhibited by Met-tRNAf. These results establish that the only mRNA-binding component in the eIF-2 preparation is eIF-2 itself, and show that a given molecule of eIF-2 can either bind to a molecule of mRNA, or form a ternary complex with Met-tRNAf and GTP, but cannot do both at once.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)449-455
Number of pages7
JournalBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
Volume91
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Nov 1979

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Supported by grants from the Israel GSF (Muenchen).

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