Extensive translatome remodeling during ER stress response in mammalian cells

In this work we have described the translatome of two mammalian cell lines, NIH3T3 and Jurkat, by scoring the relative polysome association of ∼10,000 mRNA under normal and ER stress conditions. We have found that translation efficiencies of mRNA correlated poorly with transcript abundance, although a general tendency was observed so that the highest translation efficiencies were found in abundant mRNA. Despite the differences found between mouse (NIH3T3) and human (Jurkat) cells, both cell types share a common translatome composed by ∼800-900 mRNA that encode proteins involved in basic cellular functions. Upon stress, an extensive remodeling in translatomes was observed so that translation of ∼50% of mRNA was inhibited in both cell types, this effect being more dramatic for those mRNA that accounted for most of the cell translation. Interestingly, we found two subsets comprising 1000-1500 mRNA whose translation resisted or was induced by stress. Translation arrest resistant class includes many mRNA encoding aminoacyl tRNA synthetases, ATPases and enzymes involved in DNA replication and stress response such as BiP. This class of mRNA is characterized by high translation rates in both control and stress conditions. Translation inducible class includes mRNA whose translation was relieved after stress, showing a high enrichment in early response transcription factors of bZIP and zinc finger C2H2 classes. Unlike yeast, a general coordination between changes in translation and transcription upon stress (potentiation) was not observed in mammalian cells. Among the different features of mRNA analyzed, we found a relevant association of translation efficiency with the presence of upstream ATG in the 5'UTR and with the length of coding sequence of mRNA, and a looser association with other parameters such as the length and the G+C content of 5'UTR. A model for translatome remodeling during the acute phase of stress response in mammalian cells is proposed.