Releasing Factors

Introduction

The translation is one of the important processes in the biological system which forms a part of the central dogma in molecular biology. It is a process where the protein chains are joined with the help of peptide bonds. The termination of translation is brought about with the help of release factors. They attach to the ribosome to bring termination of the process and thereby halts the translation. They are small molecules and are usually of three types named RF1, RF2, and RF3. As a result, the nascent peptide chain falls and gets released from the ribosomal subunits, and stops the process.

Releasing factors

Release factors are regarded as the protein that is secreted from the neuroendocrine neuron axon. There are three release factors that play key roles during the translation process. These are Release factors 1, 2, and 3. RF 1 initially attaches to the growing polypeptide chain. This is followed by the attachment of RF 2. The final attachment of RF 3 ends the process where the complete polypeptide chain is released. In the majority of the cases, RF 3 acts as a water molecule. They are determined as per the prokaryotic or eukaryotic living system.  There are two types of classes of release factors. Class I and Class II release factors. The Class I release factor binds to the ribosome with the help of a stop codon at the ribosomal A site. The stop codons of UAG, UGG, and UGA are involved in mediating the translation process with the help of proper attachment with the release factors.

Properties of Release Factors

• Responsible for triggering translation termination in a biological system
• Mimics the transfer RNA by sitting on the acceptor arm of the ribosome
• Sits at the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) of the ribosome’s
• Binds to 50S ribosomal submit at the prokaryotic system and at 60S submit of eukaryotic system 
• Releases the peptide chain through the large subunit of the ribosome

Growth Hormone Releasing Factor

GHRH stands for Growth hormone-releasing hormone that is involved in mediating the growth of the living system. Thereby, the growth hormone-releasing factor is one of the factors that ensure that the growth hormone is released properly into the bloodstream. Growth hormone-releasing factor occurs when the biological system requires an agonist to stimulate GHRH. This way the release of the hormone into the bloodstream occurs and the level of growth hormone determines the growth pattern for the same.

Release Factor 3

Release factors are constituted of three types where the last one holds the most importance in the field of molecular biology. This is because, upon the addition of the third release factor, the termination process ceases which leads to the release of the protein peptides. Release factor 3 potentially binds to the A site of the peptidyl transferase enzyme and makes the polypeptide get released from the E exit. E site is the exit site that determines that the final exit of the polypeptide has occurred correctly. RF 3 recognizes the stop codon and binds at the ribosomal site to bring a stoppage in the protein synthesis of the translation process. 

Melanocyte Inhibiting Factor

Melanocyte inhibiting factor acts as an inhibitor for melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) which is responsible for inhibiting the growth of melanocytes. Melanocyte inhibiting factor-1 is one of the types of MIF that determines that proper inhibition of the MSH has taken place. It also increases the dopamine levels of the brain and works as an antagonistic factor. Melanocyte inhibiting factor is a type of release factor which is ultimately involved in inhibiting the process of release of melanocytes in the human body. They act by mediating the process of the stimulating process by inhibiting the process of MSH.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the role of release factors in mediating the essential processes of molecular biology can be determined with the help of this. They are involved in determining the efficiency of the translation process by ensuring that the factors are released properly into the bloodstream. Moreover, the use of growth hormone-releasing factors and melanocyte inhibiting factors can be determined by understanding the related role of the same. Furthermore, water is an essential release factor that might help to inhibit the translation process apart from the two aforementioned types.