Human eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) protein binds to eIF3c, -d, and -e to promote mRNA recruitment to the ribosome.

Recruitment of mRNA to the 40S ribosomal subunit requires the coordinated interaction of a large number of translation initiation factors. In mammals, the direct interaction between eukaryotic initiation factor 4G (eIF4G) and eIF3 is thought to act as the molecular bridge between the mRNA cap-binding complex and the 40S subunit. A discrete ∼90 amino acid domain in eIF4G is responsible for binding to eIF3, but the identity of the eIF3 subunit(s) involved is less clear.

Human eIF4E promotes mRNA restructuring by stimulating eIF4A helicase activity.

Elevated eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) levels frequently occur in a variety of human cancers. Overexpression of eIF4E promotes cellular transformation by selectively increasing the translation of proliferative and prosurvival mRNAs. These mRNAs possess highly structured 5'-UTRs that impede ribosome recruitment and scanning, yet the mechanism for how eIF4E abundance elevates their translation is not easily explained by its cap-binding activity.