Increase in eukaryotic initiation factor 2B activity following fertilization reflects changes in redox potential.

One of the factors involved in the postfertilization activation of protein synthesis in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is the activation of eIF-2B, the initiation factor responsible for guanine nucleotide exchange on eIF-2. Cell-free translation systems from unfertilized eggs are stimulated by added eIF-2B, although this dependency is rapidly lost in translation systems prepared at various times following fertilization. Cell-free translation systems prepared from unfertilized eggs show significantly lower eIF-2B activities than those prepared from 2-h embryos. However, the provision of an NADPH regeneration system significantly stimulates eIF-2B activity in egg extracts and, in addition, stimulates both binding of initiator tRNA to the small ribosomal subunit and protein synthetic activity. These data suggest that the activation of eIF-2B following fertilization reflects the fertilization-induced increase in NADPH levels.