Endonuclease that cleaves polypeptidyl-tRNAs downstream of the ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) pathway to release incompletely synthesized polypeptides for degradation. The RQC pathway disassembles aberrantly stalled translation complexes to recycle or degrade the constituent parts. ANKZF1 acts downstream disassembly of stalled ribosomes and specifically cleaves off the terminal 3'-CCA nucleotides universal to all tRNAs from polypeptidyl-tRNAs, releasing (1) ubiquitinated polypeptides from 60S ribosomal subunit for degradation and (2) cleaved tRNAs. ANKZF1-cleaved tRNAs are then repaired and recycled by ELAC1 and TRNT1. Also plays a role in the cellular response to hydrogen peroxide and in the maintenance of mitochondrial integrity under conditions of cellular stress