Project description:The eIF2 initiation complex is central to maintaining a functional translation machinery. Extreme stress such as life-threatening sepsis exposes vulnerabilities in this tightly regulated system, resulting in an imbalance between the opposing actions of kinases and phosphatases on the main regulatory subunit eIF2α. Here, we report that translation shutdown is a hallmark of established sepsis-induced kidney injury brought about by excessive eIF2α phosphorylation and sustained by blunted expression of the counterregulatory phosphatase subunit Ppp1r15a. We determined that the blunted Ppp1r15a expression persists because of the presence of an upstream open reading frame (uORF). Overcoming this barrier with genetic approaches enabled the derepression of Ppp1r15a, salvaged translation and improved kidney function in an endotoxemia model. We also found that the loss of this uORF has broad effects on the composition and phosphorylation status of the immunopeptidome that extended beyond the eIF2α axis. Collectively, our findings define the breath and potency of the highly conserved Ppp1r15a uORF and provide a paradigm for the design of uORF-based translation rheostat strategies. The ability to accurately control the dynamics of translation during sepsis will open new paths for the development of therapies at codon level precision.
Project description:The eIF2 initiation complex is central to maintaining a functional translation machinery. Extreme stress such as life-threatening sepsis exposes vulnerabilities in this tightly regulated system, resulting in an imbalance between the opposing actions of kinases and phosphatases on the main regulatory subunit eIF2α. Here, we report that translation shutdown is a hallmark of established sepsis-induced kidney injury brought about by excessive eIF2α phosphorylation and sustained by blunted expression of the counterregulatory phosphatase subunit Ppp1r15a. We determined that the blunted Ppp1r15a expression persists because of the presence of an upstream open reading frame (uORF). Overcoming this barrier with genetic approaches enabled the depression of Ppp1r15a, salvaged translation and improved kidney function in an endotoxemia model. We also found that the loss of this uORF has broad effects on the composition and phosphorylation status of the immunopeptidome that extended beyond the eIF2α axis. Collectively, our findings define the breadth and potency of the highly conserved Ppp1r15a uORF and provide a paradigm for the design of uORF-based translation rheostat strategies. The ability to accurately control the dynamics of translation during sepsis will open new paths for the development of therapies at codon level precision.
Project description:Mitochondria are known to be functional organelles, but their role as a signaling unit is increasingly being appreciated. The recent identification of a short open reading frame (sORF) in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that encodes a signaling peptide, humanin, suggests the possible existence of additional sORFs in the mtDNA that yield bioactive peptides. Here we report the identification of a sORF within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA encoding a 16-amino-acid peptide named MOTS-c (mitochondrial open-reading-frame of the twelve S rRNA -c) that regulates insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis. MOTS-c is detected in various tissues and in circulation in an age-dependent manner. Its primary target organ appears to be the skeletal muscle and its cellular actions inhibit the folate cycle and its tethered de novo purine biosynthesis, causing a significant accumulation of AICAR levels concomitantly with AMPK activation. MOTS-c treatment in mice prevented age-dependent and high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance, as well as diet-induced obesity. These results suggest that mitochondria may be more actively engaged in regulating metabolic homeostasis than previously recognized, through the production of peptides encoded within its genome that act at the cellular and organismal level. Human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293 cell line) were cultured in 10-cm dishes in 7 mL of phenol-free DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS and incubated with water (controls) or the 16-amino-acid peptide mitochondrial open-reading-frame of the twelve S rRNA-c (MOTS-c, 10 uM) for 4 or 72 hours prior to RNA extraction.
Project description:Upon initiation at an AUG start codon, the ribosome must maintain the correct reading frame for hundreds of codons in order to produce functional proteins. Although some sequence elements are able to trigger programmed ribosomal frameshifting (PRF), very little is known how the ribosome normally prevents spontaneous frameshift errors. Using high resolution ribosome profiling data sets, we discovered that the translating ribosome uses the 3’ end of 18S rRNA to scan the AUG-like codons after the decoding process. The internal mRNA:rRNA interaction not only contributes to predominant translational pausing, but also provides a post-decoding mechanism to safeguard the ribosome in the correct reading frame. Partially eliminating the AUG-like “sticky” codons in the reporter message leads to increased +1 frameshift errors. Remarkably, mutating the highly conserved CAU triplet of 18S rRNA globally changes codon “stickiness”. Further supporting the role of “sticky” sequences in reading frame maintenance, the codon composition of open reading frames is highly optimized across eukaryotic genomes by minimizing the appearance of AUG-like codons in the frame 2. These results suggest an important layer of information embedded within the protein coding sequences that instructs the ribosome to ensure reading frame fidelity during translation.
Project description:The 5' untranslated region (UTR) sequence of eukaryotic mRNAs may contain upstream open reading frames (uORFs), which can regulate translation of the main open reading frame (mORF). The current model of translational regulation by uORFs posits that when a ribosome scans an mRNA and encounters a uORF, translation of that uORF can prevent ribosomes from reaching the mORF and cause decreased mORF translation. In this study, we first observed that rare variants in the 5' UTR dysregulate protein abundance. Upon further investigation, we found that rare variants near the start codon of uORFs can repress or derepress mORF translation, causing allelic changes in protein abundance. This finding holds for common variants as well, and common variants that modify uORF start codons also contribute disproportionately to metabolic and whole-plant phenotypes, suggesting that translational regulation by uORFs serves an adaptive function. These results provide evidence for the mechanisms by which natural sequence variation modulates gene expression, and ultimately, phenotype.
Project description:Translation of an mRNA in eukaryotes starts at AUG in most cases. Near-cognate codons (NCCs) such as UUG, ACG and AUU are also used as start sites at low levels in S. cerevisiae. Initiation from NCCs or AUGs in the 5’-untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs can lead to translation of upstream open reading frames (uORFs) that might regulate expression of the main ORF (mORF). Although there is some circumstantial evidence that the translation of uORFs can be affected by environmental conditions, little is known about how it is affected by changes in growth temperature. Using reporter assays, we found that changes in growth temperature can affect translation from NCC start sites in yeast cells, suggesting the possibility that gene expression could be regulated by temperature by altering use of different uORF start codons. Using ribosome profiling, we provide evidence that growth temperature regulates the efficiency of translation of nearly 200 uORFs in S. cerevisiae. Of these uORFs, most that start with an AUG codon have increased translational efficiency at 37 ˚C relative to 30 ˚C and decreased efficiency at 20 ˚C. For translationally regulated uORFs starting with NCCs, we did not observe a general trend for the direction of regulation as a function of temperature, suggesting mRNA-specific features can determine the mode of temperature-dependent regulation. Consistent with this conclusion, the position of the uORFs in the 5’-leader relative to the 5’-cap and the start codon of the main ORF correlates with the direction of temperature-dependent regulation of uORF translation. We have identified several novel cases in which changes in uORF translation are inversely correlated with changes in the translational efficiency of the downstream main ORF. Our data suggest that translation of these mRNAs is subject to temperature-dependent, uORF-mediated regulation. Overall, our data suggest that alterations in the translation of specific uORFs by temperature can regulate gene expression in S. cerevisiae.
Project description:Mitochondria are known to be functional organelles, but their role as a signaling unit is increasingly being appreciated. The recent identification of a short open reading frame (sORF) in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that encodes a signaling peptide, humanin, suggests the possible existence of additional sORFs in the mtDNA that yield bioactive peptides. Here we report the identification of a sORF within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA encoding a 16-amino-acid peptide named MOTS-c (mitochondrial open-reading-frame of the twelve S rRNA -c) that regulates insulin sensitivity and metabolic homeostasis. MOTS-c is detected in various tissues and in circulation in an age-dependent manner. Its primary target organ appears to be the skeletal muscle and its cellular actions inhibit the folate cycle and its tethered de novo purine biosynthesis, causing a significant accumulation of AICAR levels concomitantly with AMPK activation. MOTS-c treatment in mice prevented age-dependent and high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance, as well as diet-induced obesity. These results suggest that mitochondria may be more actively engaged in regulating metabolic homeostasis than previously recognized, through the production of peptides encoded within its genome that act at the cellular and organismal level.