Ribosome collision sensor Hel2 recognizes mistargeting secretory ribosome-nascent chain complexes

Ribosome collision due to translational stalling is recognized as a problematic event in translation by E3 ubiquitin ligase Hel2, leading to non-canonical subunit dissociation followed by targeting of the faulty nascent peptides for degradation. Although Hel2-mediated quality control greatly contributes to maintaining cellular protein homeostasis, its physiological role in dealing with endogenous substrates remains unclear. This study utilized genome-wide analysis, based on selective ribosome profiling, to survey the endogenous substrates for Hel2. This survey revealed that Hel2 preferentially binds to the pre-engaged secretory ribosome-nascent-chain complexes (RNCs), which translate upstream of targeting signals. Notably, Hel2 recruitment into secretory RNCs was elevated under signal recognition particle (SRP)-deficient conditions. Moreover, the mitochondrial defects caused by insufficient SRP were enhanced by hel2 deletion, along with the mistargeting of secretory proteins into mitochondria. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into risk management in the secretory pathway that maintains cellular protein homeostasis.