From August 2 to August 22, 2025, PhD student Vanesa Bernal carried out a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) funded by Translacore european COST Action at the Department of Molecular Biology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (Lublin, Poland).
The project, hosted in the laboratory of Prof. Marek Tchórzewski with the collaboration of Dr. Barbara Michalec-Wawiórka, was entitled:
“Exploring the nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of eIF5A as a mechanism of gene expression regulation and its potential as a therapeutic target in cancer.”
The aim of the STSM was to investigate the regulation of the subcellular localisation of the essential translation factor eIF5A. Using both yeast and mammalian cell models, the project addressed how eIF5A dynamics are influenced by physiological signals and stress conditions. In yeast, eIF5A localisation was found to change under severe heat stress (46°C), nutrient starvation, and stationary phase. In contrast, experiments in HeLa cells under heat shock, ribotoxic stress, and ER stress did not reveal significant changes in its distribution.
Although preliminary, these results suggest important regulation of eIF5A localisation under certain conditions, which require further study. The stay provided valuable training in fluorescence and confocal microscopy, expanded experimental approaches for Vanesa’s PhD research, and laid the foundation for a long-term collaboration with the Tchórzewski group, aligned with Translacore’s goal of evaluating eIF5A as a potential therapeutic target in cancer.
