Protein 4.1R binding to eIF3-p44 suggests an interaction between the cytoskeletal network and the translation apparatus

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Abstract
Erythroid protein 4.1 (4.1R) is an 80-kd cytoskeletal protein that stabilizes the membrane-skeletal network structure underlying the lipid bilayer. Using the carboxyl terminal domain (22/24 kd) of 4.1R as bait in a yeast 2-hybrid screen, we isolated cDNA clones encoding a polypeptide of eIF3-p44, which represents a subunit of a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) complex. The eIF3 complex consists of at least 10 subunits that play an essential role in the pathway of protein translation initiation. Northern blot analysis revealed that eIF3-p44 (approximately 1.35 kb) is constitutively expressed in many tissues. The essential sequence for this interaction was mapped to the carboxyl-terminus of 4.1R (residues 525-622) and a region (residues 54-321) of eIF3-p44. The direct association between 4.1R and eIF3-p44 was further confirmed by in vitro binding assays and coimmunoprecipitation studies. To characterize the functions of eIF3-p44, we depleted eIF3-p44 from rabbit reticulocyte lysates either by anti-eIF3-p44 antibody or by GST/4.1R-80 fusion protein. Our results show that the eIF3-p44 depleted cell-free translation system was unable to synthesize proteins efficiently. The direct association between 4.1R and elF3-p44 suggests that 4.1R may act as an anchor protein that links the cytoskeleton network to the translation apparatus.