Endoplasmic reticulum stress, PrP trafficking, and neurodegeneration

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Rane et al. report a cellular pathway to link PrP(Sc), via ER stress and the activation of a preemptive quality control process, to neurodegeneration in a PrP-dependent manner. This pathway puts together several pieces in the puzzle of the relationship between PrP(Sc) and brain damage and may in part explain the mechanism of prion neurodegeneration.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress response in yeast and humans

Stress pathways monitor intracellular systems and deploy a range of regulatory mechanisms in response to stress. One of the best-characterized pathways, the UPR (unfolded protein response), is an intracellular signal transduction pathway that monitors ER (endoplasmic reticulum) homoeostasis. Its activation is required to alleviate the effects of ER stress and is highly conserved from yeast to human. Although metazoans have three UPR outputs, yeast cells rely exclusively on the Ire1 (inositol-requiring enzyme-1) pathway, which is conserved in all Eukaryotes. In general, the UPR program activates hundreds of genes to alleviate ER stress but it can lead to apoptosis if the system fails to restore homoeostasis. In this review, we summarize the major advances in understanding the response to ER stress in Sc (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Sp (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) and humans. The contribution of solved protein structures to a better understanding of the UPR pathway is discussed. Finally, we cover the interplay of ER stress in the development of diseases.     

Endoplasmic reticulum: the unfolded protein response is tangled in neurodegeneration

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in the folding and maturation of membrane-bound and secreted proteins. Disturbed homeostasis in the ER can lead to accumulation of misfolded proteins, which trigger a stress response called the unfolded protein response (UPR). In neurodegenerative diseases that are classified as tauopathies, activation of the UPR coincides with the pathogenic accumulation of the microtubule associated protein tau. Several lines of evidence indicate that UPR activation contributes to increased levels of phosphorylated tau, a prerequisite for the formation of tau aggregates. Increased understanding of the crosstalk between signaling pathways involved in protein quality control in the ER and tau phosphorylation will support the development of new therapeutic targets that promote neuronal survival.     

内质网应激

内质网应激表现为内质网腔内错误折叠与未折叠蛋白聚集以及Ca^2 平衡紊乱,可激活未折叠蛋白反应、内质网超负荷反应和caspase-12介导的凋亡通路等信号途径,既能诱导糖调节蛋白(glucose-regulated protein 78kD,GRP78)、GRP94等内质网分子伴侣表达而产生保护效应,亦能独立地诱导细胞凋亡。内质网应激直接影响应激细胞的转归,如适应、损伤或凋亡。     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and neurodegeneration in rats neonatally infected with borna disease virus

Borna disease virus infection of neonatal rats results in a characteristic behavioral syndrome and apoptosis of subsets of neurons in the hippocampus and cerebellum (neonatal Borna disease [NBD]). The cellular mechanisms leading to neurodevelopmental damage in NBD have not been fully elucidated. Insights into this model may have general implications for understanding the pathogenesis of virus-associated neurodevelopmental damage. Here we report the presence of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers and activation of the unfolded protein response in the NBD hippocampus and cerebellum. Specific findings included enhanced PERK-mediated phosphorylation of eif2alpha and concomitant regulation of ATF4 translation; IRE1-mediated splicing of XBP1 mRNA; and cleavage of the ATF6 protein in NBD rat brains. We found evidence for regional and cell type-specific divergence in the expression of ER stress-induced proapoptotic and quality control signals. Our results demonstrate that ER stress induction in death-susceptible Purkinje neurons in NBD is associated with the expression of the proapoptotic molecule CHOP in the absence of compensatory expression of the ER quality control molecules Bip and protein disulfide isomerase. In contrast, ER stress in death-resistant astrocytes is associated with complementary expression of CHOP and ER quality control signals. These results implicate an imbalance between ER stress-mediated apoptosis and survival signaling as a critical determinant of neural cell fate in NBD.     

内质网应激与急性损伤后免疫反应

严重损伤后机体免疫功能紊乱发病机制及其调控途径是现代危重病医学亟待解决的重大难题.创伤、烧伤等急性打击及伴随的失血、低氧、缺血-再灌注损伤等多种因素均可引起组织细胞内质网功能状态的改变即内质网应激(ERS).ERS持续时间及应激水平决定应激细胞适应、损伤或凋亡的发生与发展,对机体免疫系统功能状态具有重要影响.本文综述ERS与急性损伤后机体免疫功能状态的关系及其在脓毒症病理过程中的意义.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis

Cell death is an essential event in normal life and development, as well as in the pathophysiological processes that lead to disease. It has become clear that each of the main cellular organelles can participate in cell death signalling pathways, and recent advances have highlighted the importance of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in cell death processes. In cells, the ER functions as the organelle where proteins mature, and as such, is very responsive to extracellular-intracellular changes of environment. This short overview focuses on the known pathways of programmed cell death triggering from or involving the ER.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and kidney dysfunction

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects millions of persons worldwide and constitutes a major public health problem. Therefore, understanding the molecular basis of CKD is a key challenge for the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies. A major contributor to chronic histological damage associated with CKD is acute kidney injury (AKI). At the cellular level, kidney injuries are associated with microenvironmental alterations, forcing cells to activate adaptive biological processes that eliminate the stressor and generate alarm signals. These signalling pathways actively participate in tissue remodelling by promoting inflammation and fibrogenesis, ultimately leading to CKD. Many stresses that are encountered upon kidney injury are prone to trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In the kidney, ER stress both participates in acute and chronic histological damages, but also promotes cellular adaptation and nephroprotection. In this review, we will discuss the implication of ER stress in the pathophysiology of AKI and CKD progression, and we will give a critical analysis of the current experimental and clinical evidence that support ER stress as a mediator of kidney damage.     

内质网应激与糖尿病动脉粥样硬化

动脉粥样硬化是糖尿病常见的并发症,80%的糖尿病患者死于动脉粥样硬化。近年来内质网应激在糖尿病动脉粥样硬化发生、发展过程中的作用受到了广泛关注。本文就内质网应激及其在糖尿病促发动脉粥样硬化中的作用机制作一概述。     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress triggers autophagy

Eukaryotic cells have evolved strategies to respond to stress conditions. For example, autophagy in yeast is primarily a response to the stress of nutrient limitation. Autophagy is a catabolic process for the degradation and recycling of cytosolic, long lived, or aggregated proteins and excess or defective organelles. In this study, we demonstrate a new pathway for the induction of autophagy. In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), accumulation of misfolded proteins causes stress and activates the unfolded protein response to induce the expression of chaperones and proteins involved in the recovery process. ER stress stimulated the assembly of the pre-autophagosomal structure. In addition, autophagosome formation and transport to the vacuole were stimulated in an Atg protein-dependent manner. Finally, Atg1 kinase activity reflects both the nutritional status and autophagic state of the cell; starvation-induced autophagy results in increased Atg1 kinase activity. We found that Atg1 had high kinase activity during ER stress-induced autophagy. Together, these results indicate that ER stress can induce an autophagic response.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress activates telomerase

Telomerase contributes to cell proliferation and survival through both telomere‐dependent and telomere‐independent mechanisms. In this report, we discovered that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress transiently activates the catalytic components of telomerase (TERT) expression in human cancer cell lines and murine primary neural cells. Importantly, we show that depletion of hTERT sensitizes cells to undergo apoptosis under ER stress, whereas increased hTERT expression reduces ER stress‐induced cell death independent of catalytically active enzyme or DNA damage signaling. Our findings establish a functional link between ER stress and telomerase, both of which have important implications in the pathologies associated with aging and cancer.     

内质网应激与心肌肥大

肌浆网是调控心肌细胞钙稳态、蛋白质合成和细胞凋亡的重要亚细胞器。内质网应激是指内质网理化环境改变和过负荷等因素导致未折叠/误折叠蛋白在内质网聚集和钙稳态失衡等内质网功能紊乱状态。适度的内质网应激有利于心肌细胞代偿,持续而严重的内质网应激则触发内质网应激相关细胞凋亡,造成肥大心肌由代偿转向衰竭,是影响心肌肥大发生、发展的重要因素。本文综述了内质网应激反应在心肌肥大发生、发展中的作用。     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and fungal pathogenesis

The gateway to the secretory pathway is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an organelle that is responsible for the accurate folding, post-translational modification and final assembly of up to a third of the cellular proteome. When secretion levels are high, errors in protein biogenesis can lead to the accumulation of abnormally folded proteins, which threaten ER homeostasis. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is an adaptive signaling pathway that counters a buildup in misfolded and unfolded proteins by increasing the expression of genes that support ER protein folding capacity. Fungi, like other eukaryotic cells that are specialized for secretion, rely upon the UPR to buffer ER stress caused by fluctuations in secretory demand. However, emerging evidence is also implicating the UPR as a central regulator of fungal pathogenesis. In this review, we discuss how diverse fungal pathogens have adapted ER stress response pathways to support the expression of virulence-related traits that are necessary in the host environment.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress, obesity and diabetes

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response, also commonly known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), is an adaptive response used to align ER functional capacity with demand. It is activated in various tissues under conditions related to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Hypothalamic ER stress contributes to inflammation and leptin/insulin resistance. Hepatic ER stress contributes to the development of steatosis and insulin resistance, and components of the UPR regulate liver lipid metabolism. ER stress in enlarged fat tissues induces inflammation and modifies adipokine secretion, and saturated fats cause ER stress in muscle. Finally, prolonged ER stress impairs insulin synthesis and causes pancreatic β cell apoptosis. In this review, we discuss ways in which ER stress operates as a common molecular pathway in the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes.     

血管内皮细胞内质网应激

内质网是调控细胞内膜型/分泌型蛋白质合成、钙稳态和细胞凋亡的重要细胞器,多种因素影响内质网稳态、触发内质网应激。适当的内质网应激通过激活未折叠蛋白反应促进内质网紊乱的恢复,但过度内质网应激触发内质网相关凋亡途径,参与多种疾病的发生。血管内皮细胞具有高度发达的内质网,对内质网应激非常敏感,本文综述血管内皮细胞内质网应激反应及其在血管损伤相关疾病中的作用。     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress in insulin resistance and diabetes

The endoplasmic reticulum is the main intracellular Ca²⁺ store for Ca²⁺ release during cell signaling. There are different strategies to avoid ER Ca²⁺ depletion. Release channels utilize first Ca²⁺-bound to proteins and this minimizes the reduction of the free luminal [Ca²⁺]. However, if release channels stay open after exhaustion of Ca²⁺-bound to proteins, then the reduction of the free luminal ER [Ca²⁺] (via STIM proteins) activates Ca²⁺ entry at the plasma membrane to restore the ER Ca²⁺ load, which will work provided that SERCA pump is active. Nevertheless, there are several noxious conditions that result in decreased activity of the SERCA pump such as oxidative stress, inflammatory cytokines, and saturated fatty acids, among others. These conditions result in a deficient restoration of the ER [Ca²⁺] and lead to the ER stress response that should facilitate recovery of the ER. However, if the stressful condition persists then ER stress ends up triggering cell death and the ensuing degenerative process leads to diverse pathologies; particularly insulin resistance, diabetes and several of the complications associated with diabetes. This scenario suggests that limiting ER stress should decrease the incidence of diabetes and the mobility and mortality associated with this illness.