Cancer associated mRNAs regulated by the Helix Loop Helix motif of human EIF3A. Cancer associated mRNAs regulated by the Helix Loop Helix motif of human EIF3A

Improper regulation of translation initiation, a vital check-point of protein synthesis in the cell, has been linked to a number of cancers. Overexpression of protein subunits of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) has been associated with increased translation of mRNAs involved in cell proliferation. In addition to playing a major role in general translation initiation by serving as a scaffold for the assembly of translation initiation complexes, eIF3 regulates translation of specific cellular mRNAs and viral RNAs. Mutations in the N-terminal Helix-Loop-Helix (HLH) RNA-binding motif of the EIF3A subunit in eIF3 interfere with Hepatitis C Virus Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) mediated translation initiation in vitro. Here we use RNA-seq and ribosome profiling of engineered lentiviral HEK293T cells to show that the EIF3A HLH motif controls translation of a small set of cellular transcripts enriched in oncogenic mRNAs, including MYC. Overall design: Ribosome profiling and RNA-seq analysis of control and EIF3A triple mutant HEK293T cells in biological triplicates.