Immuno-characterization of the switch of peptide elongation factors eEF1A-1/EF-1alpha and eEF1A-2/S1 in the central nervous system during mouse development.

During early postnatal development, a switch occurs between eEF1A-1/EF-1alpha and eEF1A-2/S1, homologous peptide elongation factors, in brain, heart, and skeletal muscle; eEF1A-2/S1 becomes the major form expressed in maturity. By immunofluorescent labeling, we detected both homologues in the developing brains of wild-type and wasted mutant mice, carrying a deletion in the eEF1A-2/S1 gene; we found that brain expression of eEF1A-2/S1 protein is restricted to mature, terminally differentiated neurons, and coincides with the disappearance of eEF1A-1/EF-1alpha 20 days after birth. Furthermore, no elongation factor 1A is present in wasted mutant mice neurons following the developmental switch, indicating that the genetic regulation silencing eEF1A-1/EF-1alpha is still functional.