ArticleeLife2026
Single-mRNA imaging and modeling reveal coupled translation initiation and elongation rates.
Article in eLife, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- eIF5A and polyamines restrict mRNA levels in response to ribosome stalls.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Quantitative comparison of methodologies for translation site imaging in living cells.RNA (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- UTag, a cysteine-free thermostable tagging system for tracking single mRNA translation live.Research square · 2026Article
- UTag, a cysteine-free thermostable tagging system for tracking single mRNA translation live.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Bridging single-molecule and genome-wide studies of cellular mRNA translation.RNA (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
mRNA translation involves multiple regulatory steps, but how translation elongation influences protein output remains unclear. Using SunTag live-cell imaging and mathematical modeling, we quantified translation dynamics in single mRNAs across diverse coding sequences. Our Totally Asymmetric Exclusion Process (TASEP)-based Hidden Markov Model revealed a strong coordination between initiation and elongation rates, resulting in consistently low ribosome density (≤12% occupancy) across all reporters. This coupling persisted under pharmacological inhibition of the elongation factor eIF5A, where proportional decreases in both initiation and elongation rates maintained homeostatic ribosome density. In contrast, eIF5A knockout cells exhibited a significant decrease in ribosome density, suggesting altered coordination. Together, these results highlight a dynamical coupling of initiation and elongation rates at the single-mRNA level, preventing ribosome crowding and maintaining translational homeostasis in mammalian cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.