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In vivo activation of the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response without disturbed proteostasis

University of British Columbia

The Mediator is a conserved transcriptional co-factor complex required for eukaryotic gene expression. In C. elegans, the Mediator subunit mdt-15 is essential for the expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism and ingestion-associated stress response. mdt-15 loss-of-function causes defects in reproduction and mobility and shortens lifespan. In the present study, we find that mdt-15 depletion or mutation specifically decreases membrane phospholipid unsaturation. Accordingly, mdt-15 worms exhibit disturbed ER homeostasis indicated by a constitutively activated ER unfolded protein response (UPRER). This stress response is only partially the consequence of reduced membrane lipid unsaturation, implicating other mdt-15–regulated processes in the protection against ER stress. Interestingly, mdt-15 inactivation or depletion of lipid metabolism enzymes SCD or sams-1 activates the UPRER without promoting misfolded protein aggregates in the ER. Moreover, these worms all exhibit wild-type sensitivity to chemically induced protein misfolding, and they do not display synthetic lethality with ire-1, whose inactivation causes protein misfolding. Therefore, the constitutive UPRER in mdt-15, SCD, or sams-1 worms is not the consequence of disturbed proteostasis, but likely the direct result from altered properties of the ER membrane. Altogether, our data suggest that the UPRER can be directly induced by membrane disequilibrium and thus acts as a circuit that comprehensively monitors ER homeostasis.

Text

2014-04-22

Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/46514

Cell and Developmental Biology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/ca/