Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 3A (EIF3A)

EIF3, at 650 kD, is the largest of the EIFs. According to Johnson et al. (1997), EIF3 has been implicated in several roles, including binding to the 40S ribosomal subunit and to other EIFs, possibly to align the factors for initial binding to the 40S subunit and the subsequent identification of the AUG initiation codon. The EIF3 protein synthesis initiation factor is composed of at least 8 subunits, the largest of which is p180.Using a library of endoribonuclease-prepared short interfering RNAs (esiRNAs), Kittler et al. (2004) identified 37 genes required for cell division, one of which was EIF3S10. These 37 genes included several splicing factors for which knockdown generates mitotic spindle defects. In addition, a putative nuclear-export terminator was found to speed up cell proliferation and mitotic progression after knockdown.