Ribosomal stress regulates eEF2K activity and expression

Translation is a complex process essential for cell survival that is subjected to a strict regulation. Although it is commonly considered a general phenomenon, it can be divided into two aspects: 1) general protein synthesis and 2) translation of specific messengers. During the course of my PhD work I had the opportunity to study both these aspects, focusing my attention on translation elongation during ribosomal stress and the translational regulation of specific mRNAs as a form of post transcriptional regulation. This thesis work is focused mainly on the principal project which identified a novel interaction important for ribosomal stress response and regulation of the elongation step. In addition, I have taken part to several different side projects some of which performed in collaboration with other research groups. Some of those works have been published in scientific journals, collected and briefly explained in the Appendix. Within those I have focused my attention on the translational analysis of specific mRNAs. In particular, I have investigated how they can be differently translated in response to the induction of specific stimuli or by regulatory proteins activity.