Regulation of protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. Requirement of initiation factor eIF-2 holoprotein for substrate specificity of heme-regulated protein kinase.

The specificity of the heme-regulated protein kinase (HRI) was investigated further by utilizing the isolated 38,000 Da subunit (alpha subunit) polypeptide of eIF-2 as the substrate. For this purpose, the three subunit polypeptides of eIF-2 (38,000 Da, alpha; 50,000 Da, beta; and 52,000 Da, gamma) were resolved by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results show that HRI is incapable of phosphorylating the 38,000 Da subunit separated from the other two eIF-2 polypeptides. Data suggest that the substrate specificity of HRI is determined by the quaternary structure assumed by the alpha subunit in association with the other two subunits in the eIF-2 holoprotein.