title: Assessment of selective mRNA translation in mammalian cells by polysome profiling.
abstract: Regulation of protein synthesis represents a key control point in cellular response to stress. In particular, discreet RNA regulatory elements were shown to allow to selective translation of specific mRNAs, which typically encode for proteins required for a particular stress response. Identification of these mRNAs, as well as the characterization of regulatory mechanisms responsible for selective translation has been at the forefront of molecular biology for some time. Polysome profiling is a cornerstone method in these studies. The goal of polysome profiling is to capture mRNA translation by immobilizing actively translating ribosomes on different transcripts and separate the resulting polyribosomes by ultracentrifugation on a sucrose gradient, thus allowing for a distinction between highly translated transcripts and poorly translated ones. These can then be further characterized by traditional biochemical and molecular biology methods. Importantly, combining polysome profiling with high throughput genomic approaches allows for a large scale analysis of translational regulation.
authors.affiliation: Apoptosis Research Centre, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa.
authors.forename: Mame Daro
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute.
authors.forename: Tyson E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Graber
authors.affiliation: Apoptosis Research Centre, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa; martin@arc.cheo.ca.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holcik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D011132:Polyribosomes / Q000235:genetics*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger