Exposure to arsenite inhibits protein synthesis and activates multiple stress signaling
pathways. Although arsenite has diverse effects on cell metabolism, we demonstrated that
phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 at Ser-51 on the α subunit was
necessary to inhibit protein synthesis initiation in arsenite-treated cells and was essential for
stress granule formation. Of the four protein kinases known to phosphorylate eukaryotic
translation initiation factor 2α, only the heme-regulated inhibitor kinase (HRI) was required …