Quantitative Immunofluorescence to Measure Global Localized Translation

Abstract

The mechanisms regulating mRNA translation are involved in various biological processes, such as germ line development, cell differentiation, and organogenesis, as well as in multiple diseases. Numerous publications have convincingly shown that specific mechanisms tightly regulate mRNA translation. Increased interest in the translation-induced regulation of protein expression has led to the development of novel methods to study and follow de novo protein synthesis in cellulo. However, most of these methods are complex, making them costly and often limiting the number of mRNA targets that can be studied. This manuscript proposes a method that requires only basic reagents and a confocal fluorescence imaging system to measure and visualize the changes in mRNA translation that occur in any cell line under various conditions. This method was recently used to show localized translation in the subcellular structures of adherent cells over a short period of time, thus offering the possibility of visualizing de novo translation for a short period during a variety of biological processes or of validating changes in translational activity in response to specific stimuli.