Abstract
Significance:
Translation is an essential cellular process, and diverse signaling pathways have evolved to deal with problems arising during translation. Erroneous stalls and unresolved ribosome collisions are implicated in many pathologies, including neurodegeneration and metabolic dysregulation.
Recent Advances:
Many proteins involved in detection and clearance of stalled and collided ribosomes have been identified and studied in detail. Ribosome profiling techniques have revealed extensive and nonprogrammed ribosome stalling and leaky translation into the 3′ untranslated regions of mRNAs. Impairment of protein synthesis has been linked to aging in yeast and mice.
Critical Issues:
Ribosomes act as sensors of cellular states, but the molecular mechanisms, as well as physiological relevance, remain understudied. Most of our current knowledge stems from work in yeast and simple multicellular organisms such as
Future Directions:
A better insight into the physiological roles of ribosome-surveillance pathways and their crosstalk could lead to an improved understanding of human pathologies and aging. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 39, 336–350.
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