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Updated: May 14, 2026

Visualization of Endoplasmic Reticulum Localized mRNAs in Mammalian Cells
Published on: December 17, 2012
The current status of vertebrate cellular mRNA IRESs
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QW, United Kingdom. rjj@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
Internal ribosome entry sites/segments (IRESs) were first discovered over 20 years ago in picornaviruses, followed by the discovery of two other types of IRES in hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the dicistroviruses, which infect invertebrates. In the meantime, reports of IRESs in eukaryotic cellular mRNAs started to appear, and the list of such putative IRESs continues to grow to the point in which it now stands at ~100, 80% of them in vertebrate mRNAs. Despite initial skepticism from some quarters, there now seems universal agreement that there is genuine internal ribosome entry on the viral IRESs. However, the same cannot be said for cellular mRNA IRESs, which continue to be shrouded in controversy. The aim of this article is to explain why vertebrate mRNA IRESs remain controversial, and to discuss ways in which these controversies might be resolved.
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