An Inner Mitochondrial Membrane Microprotein from the SLC35A4 Upstream ORF Regulates Cellular Metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Upstream open reading frames (uORFs) are cis-acting elements that can dynamically regulate the translation of downstream ORFs by suppressing downstream translation under basal conditions and, in some cases, increasing downstream translation under stress conditions. Computational and empirical methods have identified uORFs in the 5'-UTRs of approximately half of all mouse and human transcripts, making uORFs one of the largest regulatory elements known. Because the prevailing dogma was that eukaryotic mRNAs produce a single functional protein, the peptides and small proteins, or microproteins, encoded by uORFs were rarely studied. We hypothesized that a uORF in the SLC35A4 mRNA is producing a functional microprotein (SLC35A4-MP) because of its conserved amino acid sequence. Through a series

SUBMITTER: Rocha AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11292582 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature