Ribosome-quality control antagonizes the activation of the integrated-stress response on colliding ribosomes. Yan LL & Zaher HS

Recently, ribosome stalling has also been linked to the activation of Gcn2 and the subsequent integrated-stress response (ISR). How the two processes are coordinated is not completely clear.

Here we show that activation of ribosome-quality control by Hel2 suppresses that of Gcn2 in yeast. In the absence of Hel2, we observe a gene-expression signature indicative of ISR activation, suggesting that the factor is used to suppress premature activation of Gcn2 in the absence of stress conditions. We further show that Hel2 and Gcn2 are activated by a similar set of agents that cause ribosome stalling, with maximal activation of Hel2 observed at a lower frequency of stalling.