Assessment of translation rate in leukemic cells and immune cells of the microenvironment by OPP protein synthesis assay.

Despite being tightly regulated, messenger RNA (mRNA) translation, a manner in which cells control expression of genes and rapidly respond to stimuli, is highly dysfunctional and plastic in pathologies including cancer. Conversely, the investigation of molecular mechanisms whereby mRNA translation becomes aberrant in cancer, as well as inhibition thereof, become critical in developing novel therapeutic approaches. More specifically, in malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia in which aberrant global and transcript specific translation has been linked with poorer patient outcomes, targeting translation is a relevant approach, with various translation inhibitors under development.