Protein synthesis initiation factor 4G

eIF4G is a member of the class of translational initiation factors involved in mRNA recruitment to the 43S initiation complex. The proteins from yeast to mammals are present in multiple isoforms of 82-176 kDa. Mammalian eIF4G-1 is synthesized by internal initiation of translation and is specifically degraded by viral and host proteases activated by stress conditions. The role of eIF4G in protein synthesis is inferred from the presence of binding sites for other initiation factors that serve to co-localize the 5 '- and 3 '-termini of mRNA with RNA-helicase activity and the 40S ribosomal subunit. Growth-regulated mRNAs are preferentially translated under conditions of accentuated eIF4E-eIF4G interaction. Proteolysis of eIF4G or expression of competitor proteins interferes with its binding to either the 5 '- or 3 '-termini, changing the spectrum of mRNAs translated. Elevated eIF4G levels correlate with malignant cell transformation and diminished eIF4G levels, with nutritional deprivation and anoxia. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.