Feedback inhibition of poly(A)-binding protein mRNA translation. A possible mechanism of translation arrest by stalled 40 S ribosomal subunits.

An adenine-rich cis element at the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of Pabp1 mRNA is able to inhibit translation of its own mRNA. Similar inhibition of translation of a reporter beta-galactosidase mRNA is observed when the adenine-rich auto regulatory sequence (ARS) is placed within the 5'-UTR of this mRNA. For this translational control the distance of the ARS from the 5' cap is not important. However, it determines the number of 40 S ribosomal subunits bound to the translationally arrested mRNA. Inhibition of mRNA translation by this regulatory sequence occurs at the step of joining of the 60 S ribosomal subunit to the pre-initiation complex. Translational arrest of the ARS containing mRNA in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate cell-free system in the presence of exogenous Pabp1 protects the 5'-flanking region of the ARS from nuclease digestion. This protection depends on the binding of the 40 S ribosomal subunit to the mRNA. The size and the sequence of the nucleotide-protected fragment depends on the location of the ARS within the 5'-UTR. When the ARS is located at a distance of about 78 nucleotides from the 5' cap, a 40-nucleotide long region adjacent to the ARS is protected. On the other hand, when the ARS is moved further away from the 5' cap to a distance of approximately 267 nucleotides, a 100-nucleotide-long region adjacent to the ARS is protected from nuclease digestion. Nuclease protection is attributed to the presence of one or more stalled 40 S ribosomal subunits near the Pabp1-bound ARS.