Metabolic regulation of translation

Control of mRNA translation provides a layer of regulation of gene expression that directly and rapidly impacts protein abundance and has the potential to buffer oscillations in mRNA to promote metabolic homeostasis. In addition to regulation of initiation and elongation, recent studies provide evidence that compositionally distinct ribosomes direct specific programs of translation in developmental and tissue-specific contexts.

 What are the contributions of translational regulation to the deleterious effects of excess glucose and fatty acids in tissues such as pancreatic islets and the liver? Does ribosome heterogeneity contribute to physiological regulation of mRNA translation and the response to metabolic stress?