Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

An Integrated Approach for Microprotein Identification and Sequence Analysis
Published on: July 12, 2022
Mapping and characterization of the minimal internal ribosome entry segment in the human c-myc mRNA 5' untranslated
Sabrina Cencig1, Cécile Nanbru, Shu-Yun Le
1Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Institut de Biologie et de Médecine Moléculaires, Université Libre de Bruxelles, rue des Profs Jeener et Brachet 12, 6041 Gosselies, Belgium.
Abstract:
The human c-myc proto-oncogene is transcribed from four alternative promoters generating transcripts with 5' untranslated regions of various lengths. These transcripts encode two proteins, c-Myc1 and c-Myc2, from two initiation codons, CUG and AUG, respectively. We and others have previously demonstrated that the region of c-myc transcripts between nucleotides (nt) -363 and -94 upstream from the CUG start codon contained an internal ribosome entry site leading to the cap-independent translation of c-myc open reading frames (ORFs). Here, we mapped a 50-nt sequence (-143 -94), which is sufficient to promote internal translation initiation of c-myc ORFs. Interestingly, this 50-nt element can be further dissected into two segments of 14 nt, each capable of activating internal translation initiation. We also demonstrate that this 50-nt element acts as the ribosome landing site from which the preinitiation ribosomal complex scans the mRNA until the CUG or AUG start codons.
Related Concept Videos
Ribosome Profiling
Applications of ribosome profiling
Ribosome profiling has many applications, including in vivo monitoring of translation inside a particular organ or tissue type and quantifying new protein synthesis levels.
The technique helps...
Regulated mRNA Transport
Leaky Scanning
Initiation of Translation
First, the initiator tRNA must be selected from the pool of elongator tRNAs by eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2). The initiator tRNA (Met-tRNAi) has conserved sequence elements including modified bases at...
Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay
Usually, Upf3 binds to an Exon Junction Complex (EJC) at mRNA splice sites. If a ribosome fully translates the mRNA,...
Nucleic Acid Structure
DNA Structure
DNA has a double-helix structure. The...

