title: Phosphorylation of elongation factor 2: a key mechanism regulating gene expression in vertebrates.
abstract: Elongation factor 2 (eEF-2) is a 100-kD protein that catalyzes the ribosomal translocation reaction, resulting in the movement of ribosomes along mRNA. eEF-2 is the target for a very specific Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent eEF-2 kinase. Phosphorylation of eEF-2 makes it inactive in translation, which suggests that protein synthesis can be regulated by Ca2+ through eEF-2 phosphorylation. Recent data demonstrate that eEF-2 phosphorylation can be involved in cell-cycle regulation and other processes where changes of intracellular Ca2+ concentration induce a new physiological state of a cell. The main role of eEF-2 phosphorylation in these processes is temporary inhibition of overall translation in response to transient elevation of the Ca2+ concentrations in the cytoplasm. Temporary inhibition of translation may trigger the transition of a cell from one physiologic state into another because of the disappearance of short-lived repressors and thus the activation of expression of new genes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Protein Research, Academy of Sciences, Moscow Region, USSR.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ryazanov
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Spirin
mesh_terms: D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000502:physiology; D054736:Elongation Factor 2 Kinase; D005914:Globins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D007399:Interphase; D008938:Mitosis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009866:Oogenesis; D010441:Peptide Chain Elongation, Translational; D020652:Peptide Elongation Factor 2; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000473:pathology; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000502:physiology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D011817:Rabbits; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000235:genetics*; D014982:Xenopus laevis
chemical_list: D002147:Calmodulin; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D020652:Peptide Elongation Factor 2; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D005914:Globins; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D054736:Elongation Factor 2 Kinase; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases; D002118:Calcium