Not so lost in translation: RPS15 mutations in CLL

Abstract

In this issue of Blood, Bretones et al expand knowledge of the functional consequences of recurrent mutations in RPS15, a gene that encodes a ribosomal protein of the 40S subunit and is enriched in patients with clinically aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).1 By transfecting RPS15 mutants and applying different technologies to assess ribosome activity and efficiency in combination with high-throughput proteome profiling, they were able to demonstrate reduced half-life of RPS15, impaired translational fidelity, and changes in the expressed proteome in mutant vs wild-type RPS15.