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Polysome Fractionation and Analysis of Mammalian Translatomes on a Genome-wide Scale
Published on: May 17, 2014
Cell size-dependent mRNA transcription drives proteome remodeling
Dong Shin You1, Christopher H Bohrer2, Purva H Rumde3
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Cell Reports
|June 11, 2026
Summary
Cell size significantly impacts cell physiology by altering proteome remodeling. This study reveals that transcriptional regulation, not protein turnover, drives these changes, with larger cells prolonging transcriptional bursts.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Proteomics
Background:
- Cell size is a fundamental parameter influencing cell physiology and function.
- The molecular mechanisms underlying cell size-dependent proteome remodeling remain largely unknown.
- Understanding how cells regulate their proteome in response to size changes is crucial for comprehending cellular processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular basis of cell size-dependent proteome remodeling.
- To investigate the relationship between cell size, mRNA and protein dynamics, and transcriptional regulation.
- To identify the mechanisms by which transcription is modulated by cell size.
Main Methods:
- Development of an inducible Cyclin D1 expression system in human cells to control cell size.
- Genome-wide measurements of mRNA and protein concentrations and stability.
- Live-cell imaging of nascent mRNA using the MS2 system to analyze transcriptional dynamics.
Main Results:
- mRNA concentrations are strongly dependent on cell size, while protein and mRNA turnover rates show weak size dependence.
- Transcriptional regulation, rather than protein or mRNA degradation, is the primary driver of proteome remodeling with cell size.
- Larger cells exhibit prolonged transcriptional bursts but maintain similar burst amplitudes, indicating a mechanism for transcriptional scaling.
Conclusions:
- Transcriptional regulation is the key mechanism for cell size-dependent proteome remodeling.
- Cell size modulates transcriptional dynamics, specifically by altering the duration of transcriptional bursts.
- These findings provide a molecular framework for understanding how transcription is controlled by cell size to alter cell physiology.
Keywords:
CP: molecular biologyburstingcell biologycell sizehomeostasislysosomescalingsingle-molecule imagingtranscriptionturnoverMore Related Videos
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