title: Hypusine is essential for eukaryotic cell proliferation.
abstract: Hypusine [N epsilon-(4-amino-2-hydroxybutyl)lysine] occurs in all eukaryotes at one residue in a highly conserved protein, the putative eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A, old terminology eIF-4D). This unusual amino acid is produced in a unique posttranslational modification reaction that involves the conjugation of the 4-aminobutyl moiety of the polyamine spermidine to the epsilon-amino group of a specific lysine residue of the eIF-5A precursor protein to form the deoxyhypusine [N epsilon-(4-aminobutyl)lysine] residue and its subsequent hydroxylation. The strict specificity of hypusine synthesis, its derivation from spermidine and its requirement for the activity of eIF-5A and for eukaryotic cell proliferation have raised keen interest in the physiological function of the hypusine-containing protein, eIF-5A.
authors.affiliation: Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, NIDR, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-4340, USA. mpark@yoda.nidr.nih.gov
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Y B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Joe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000502:physiology; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D000097574:Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 5A
chemical_list: D008239:Lysine; D010448:Peptide Initiation Factors; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D000097574:Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 5A; C100028:hypusine