Eukaryotic Translation Initiation Factor 2 Subunit 2 (EIF2S2)

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (EIF-2) functions in the early steps of protein synthesis by forming a ternary complex with GTP and initiator tRNA and binding to a 40S ribosomal subunit. EIF-2 is composed of three subunits, alpha, beta (this article), and gamma, with the protein encoded by this gene representing the beta subunit. The beta subunit catalyzes the exchange of GDP for GTP, which recycles the EIF-2 complex for another round of initiation.The predicted 333-amino acid human protein contains putative GTP-binding sites, a zinc finger motif, and a highly charged N-terminal region composed of 3 basic polylysine blocks separated by acidic domains. Overall, human eIF2-beta shares 42% sequence identity with the yeast Sui3/eIF2-beta protein; the polylysine and zinc finger domains are highly conserved.