Active transport of tRNAs facilitates distributed protein synthesis

Large, polarized cells such as cardiomyocytes, skeletal myofibers, and neurons rely on localized protein synthesis to sustain size, remodel and adapt to stress. The subcellular architecture of these cells is also inherently unfavorable for long-range, diffusion-based transport, which may promote their heavy reliance on active transport mechanisms for the localization of RNA and proteins. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) function as essential regulators of protein synthesis by linking transcription and translation. Since their discovery in the 1950s, tRNA subcellular distribution has been assumed to occur through passive diffusion. Here, we report that there are pools of tRNAs that depend on the microtubule network for distribution in cardiomyocytes, skeletal myofibers and neurons. Employing dual-color live and fixed-cell super-resolution imaging, we demonstrate that active transport of tRNAs involves hitchhiking on the exterior of endolysosomal vesicles (ELV). We establish that leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS), the tRNA-binding protein that charges leucine to its cognate tRNA and interacts with Rag GTP on the surface of ELVs, is essential for tRNA transport. Disruption of LeuRS-ELV interactions is sufficient to impair long-range, microtubule-dependent tRNA transport, without affecting mRNA or rRNA transport. We also show that preventing tRNA transport is sufficient to impair translation at sites distal from the nucleus as well as globally impair protein synthesis, ultimately reducing cell size. These findings redefine tRNAs as actively trafficked cargo and establish their directed transport as a fundamental layer of translation regulation required for myocyte homeostasis. Highlights1. Pools of tRNAs require an intact microtubule network for distribution in large, complex cells. 2. tRNAs undergo active transport by hitchhiking on endolysosomal vesicles trafficked by microtubule motors. 3. The tRNA synthetase LeuRS functions as a tRNA-specific adaptor linking tRNAs to endolysosomal vesicles, and disrupting this interaction selectively impairs tRNA, but not mRNA or rRNA transport. 4. Loss of tRNA transport reduces distal translation, global protein synthesis, and cell size.