eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (EEF1A1) encodes an isoform of the alpha subunit of the elongation factor-1 complex, which is responsible for the enzymatic delivery of aminoacyl tRNAs to the ribosome. This isoform (alpha 1) is expressed in the brain, placenta, lung, liver, kidney, and pancreas, and the other isoform (alpha 2) is expressed in the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle. This isoform is identified as an autoantigen in 66% of patients with Felty syndrome. This gene has been found to have multiple copies on many chromosomes, some of which, if not all, represent different pseudogenes1.

There are two forms of eEF1A in eukaryotes, eEF1A1 and eEF1A2, both of which possess the same role in protein synthesis2. eEF1A2 was reported to be exclusively expressed in the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle, whereas eEF1A1 is well known to be ubiquitously expressed3. Tetraploid cells produced by impaired chromosomal condensation are eliminated by a novel type of cell death different from caspase-dependent apoptosis. Cell death was associated with the downregulation of eukaryotic translation elongation factor-1 a 1 (eEF1A1/EF-1a) expression in conjunction with the accumulation of its mRNA in processing bodies (P bodies). Importantly, expression of exogenous eEF1A1 was shown to inhibit the caspase-independent cell death, and similar cell death was observed after inducing the expression of short hairpin RNA speci?c for eEF1A12.