2002 Volume 66 Issue 1 Pages 1-21
Eukaryotic polypeptide elongation factor EF-1 is not only a major translational factor, but also one of the most important multifunctional (moonlighting) proteins.
EF-1 consists of four different subunits collectively termed EF-1αββ′γ and EF-1αβγδ in plants and animals, respectively. EF-1α•GTP catalyzes the binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to the A-site of the ribosome. EF-1ββ′γ (EF-1β and EF-1β′), catalyzes GDP/GTP exchange on EF-1α•GDP to regenerate EF-1α•GTP. EF-1γ has recently been shown to have glutathione S-transferase activity. EF-2 catalyzes the translocation of peptidyl-tRNA from the A-site to the P-site on the ribosome. Recently, molecular mimicry among tRNA, elongation factors, releasing factor (RF), and ribosome recycling factor (RRF) has been demonstrated and greatly improved our understanding of the mechanism of translation. Moreover, eukaryotic elongation factors have been shown to be concerned or likely to be concerned in various important cellular processes or serious diseases, including translational control, signal transduction, cytoskeletal organization, apoptosis, adult atopic dermatitis, oncogenic transformation, nutrition, and nuclear processes such as RNA synthesis and mitosis. This article aims to overview the recent advances in protein biosynthesis, concentrating on the moonlighting functions of EF-1.This article cannot obtain the latest cited-by information.