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Updated: Sep 25, 2025

Rapid In Vivo Fixation and Isolation of Translational Complexes from Eukaryotic Cells
Published on: December 25, 2021
Transcriptional lockdown during acute proteotoxic stress
1Medical Research Council (MRC), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract:
Cells experiencing proteotoxic stress downregulate the expression of thousands of active genes and upregulate a few stress-response genes. The strategy of downregulating gene expression has conceptual parallels with general lockdown in the global response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The mechanistic details of global transcriptional downregulation of genes, termed stress-induced transcriptional attenuation (SITA), are only beginning to emerge. The reduction in RNA and protein production during stress may spare proteostasis capacity, allowing cells to divert resources to control stress-induced damage. Given the relevance of translational downregulation in a broad variety of diseases, the role of SITA in diseases caused by proteotoxicity should be investigated in future, paving the way for potential novel therapeutics.
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