Warner Jonathan R, McIntosh Kerri B
Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Mol Cell. 2009 Apr 10;34(1):3-11. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2009.03.006.
Ribosomal proteins are ubiquitous, abundant, and RNA binding: prime candidates for recruitment to extraribosomal functions. Indeed, they participate in balancing the synthesis of the RNA and protein components of the ribosome itself. An exciting new story is that ribosomal proteins are sentinels for the self-evaluation of cellular health. Perturbation of ribosome synthesis frees ribosomal proteins to interface with the p53 system, leading to cell-cycle arrest or to apoptosis. Yet in only a few cases can we clearly identify the recruitment of ribosomal proteins for other extraribosomal functions. Is this due to a lack of imaginative evolution by cells and viruses, or to a lack of imaginative experiments by molecular biologists?
核糖体蛋白普遍存在、数量丰富且能与RNA结合:是被招募到核糖体之外发挥功能的主要候选对象。实际上,它们参与平衡核糖体自身RNA和蛋白质成分的合成。一个令人兴奋的新情况是,核糖体蛋白是细胞健康自我评估的哨兵。核糖体合成受到干扰会使核糖体蛋白游离出来与p53系统相互作用,从而导致细胞周期停滞或细胞凋亡。然而,只有在少数情况下我们才能清楚地确定核糖体蛋白被招募到其他核糖体之外的功能中。这是因为细胞和病毒缺乏富有想象力的进化,还是因为分子生物学家缺乏富有想象力的实验呢?