Translation elongation in the nervous system.

Protein synthesis is a highly energy-dependent process that consists of initiation, elongation, termination, and ribosome recycling. Historically, initiation has been viewed as the major site of translation regulation. However, growing recognition of elongation as a regulatory node has highlighted the importance of eukaryotic elongation factor (eEF)1A-dependent decoding, eEF2-catalyzed ribosome translocation, conditional elongation factors, ribosome speed, and tRNA dynamics. In neurons, these mechanisms are especially important because protein synthesis must be regulated across highly polarized cellular compartments. In this review, we summarize evidence from diverse model systems showing that tightly regulated translation elongation supports cellular function and viability, whereas disrupted elongation contributes to dysfunction and disease throughout the nervous system.