Human eIF2A has a minimal role in translation initiation and in uORFmediated translational control

We apply ribosome profiling here to assess the role of eIF2A in translation initiation. For this we test the change in translation efficiency between HeLa control and eIF2A-KO cells, however we do not find any transcript to depend on eIF2A. Since eIF2A is thought to take over the function of eIF2 when eIF2 is inhibited, we also test conditions where the integrated stress response is activated, thereby leading to eIF2 inactivation. In none of our assays, however, could we detect a role of eIF2A in translation initiation.