ER stress occurs in many physiological and pathological conditions. However, how chronic ER stress is alleviated in specific cells in an intact organism is an outstanding question.
Overexpressing the gap junction protein UNC-9 (Uncoordinated) in C. elegans neurons triggers the Ire1-Xbp1-mediated stress response in an age-dependent and cell-autonomous manner. The p38 MAPK PMK-3 regulates the chronic stress through IRE-1 phosphorylation. Overexpressing gap junction protein also activates autophagy. The insulin pathway functions through autophagy, but not the transcription of genes encoding ER chaperones, to counteract the p38-Ire1-Xbp1-mediated stress response. Together, these results reveal an intricate cellular regulatory network in response to chronic stress in a subset of cells in multicellular organism.
The study was published in PLoS Genetics on September 28. Graduated PhD student ZHAN Zhigao at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and associate researcher GUAN Liying in the research group of Prof. DING Mei at Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences contributed equally to the study. Prof. DING Mei is also a doctoral supervisor at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
