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The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a cellular stress response related to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. [1] It has been found to be conserved between mammalian species, [2] as well as yeast [1] [3] and worm organisms.
The UPR is activated in response to an accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. In this scenario, the UPR has three aims: initially to restore normal function of the cell by halting protein translation, degrading misfolded proteins, and activating the signaling pathways that lead to increasing the production of molecular chaperones involved in protein folding. If these objectives are not achieved within a certain time span or the disruption is prolonged, the UPR aims towards apoptosis.
Sustained overactivation of the UPR has been implicated in prion diseases as well as several other neurodegenerative diseases, and inhibiting the UPR could become a treatment for those diseases. [4] Diseases amenable to UPR inhibition include Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. [5] [6]
The term protein folding incorporates all the processes involved in the production of a protein after the nascent polypeptides have become synthesized by the ribosomes. The proteins destined to be secreted or sorted to other cell organelles carry an N-terminal signal sequence that will interact with a signal recognition particle (SRP). The SRP will lead the whole complex (Ribosome, RNA, polypeptide) to the ER membrane. Once the sequence has “docked”, the protein continues translation, with the resultant strand being fed through the polypeptide translocator directly into the ER. Protein folding commences as soon as the polypeptide enters to the luminal environment, even as translation of the remaining polypeptide continues.
Protein folding steps involve a range of enzymes and molecular chaperones to coordinate and regulate reactions, in addition to a range of substrates required in order for the reactions to take place. The most important of these to note are N-linked glycosylation and disulfide bond formation. N-linked glycosylation occurs as soon as the protein sequence passes into the ER through the translocon, where it is glycosylated with a sugar molecule that forms the key ligand for the lectin molecules calreticulin (CRT; soluble in ER lumen) and calnexin (CNX; membrane bound). [7] Favoured by the highly oxidizing environment of the ER, protein disulfide isomerases facilitate formation of disulfide bonds, which confer structural stability to the protein in order for it to withstand adverse conditions such as extremes of pH and degradative enzymes.
The ER is capable of recognizing misfolding proteins without causing disruption to the functioning of the ER. The aforementioned sugar molecule remains the means by which the cell monitors protein folding, as the misfolding protein becomes characteristically devoid of glucose residues, targeting it for identification and re-glycosylation by the enzyme UGGT (UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase). [7] If this fails to restore the normal folding process, exposed hydrophobic residues of the misfolded protein are bound by the protein glucose regulate protein 78 (Grp78), a heat shock protein 70kDa family member [8] that prevents the protein from further transit and secretion. [9]
Where circumstances continue to cause a particular protein to misfold, the protein is recognized as posing a threat to the proper functioning of the ER, as they can aggregate to one another and accumulate. In such circumstances the protein is guided through endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD). The chaperone EDEM guides the retrotranslocation of the misfolded protein back into the cytosol in transient complexes with PDI and Grp78. [10] Here it enters the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, as it is tagged by multiple ubiquitin molecules, targeting it for degradation by cytosolic proteasomes.
Successful protein folding requires a tightly controlled environment of substrates that include glucose to meet the metabolic energy requirements of the functioning molecular chaperones; calcium that is stored bound to resident molecular chaperones; and redox buffers that maintain the oxidizing environment required for disulfide bond formation. [11]
Unsuccessful protein folding can be caused by HLA-B27, disturbing balance of important (IL-10 and TNF) signaling proteins. At least some disturbances are reliant on correct HLA-B27 folding. [12]
However, where circumstances cause a more global disruption to protein folding that overwhelms the ER's coping mechanisms, the UPR is activated.
The molecular chaperone BiP/Grp78 has a range of functions within the ER. It maintains specific transmembrane receptor proteins involved in initiation of the downstream signalling of the UPR in an inactive state by binding to their luminal domains. An overwhelming load of misfolded proteins or simply the over-expression of proteins (e.g. IgG) [13] requires more of the available BiP/Grp78 to bind to the exposed hydrophobic regions of these proteins, and consequently BiP/Grp78 dissociates from these receptor sites to meet this requirement. Dissociation from the intracellular receptor domains allows them to become active. PERK dimerizes with BiP in resting cells and oligomerizes in ER-stressed cells.
Although this is traditionally the accepted model, doubts have been raised over its validity. It has been argued that the genetic and structural evidence supporting the model simply shows BiP dissociation to be merely correlated with Ire1 activation, rather than specifically causing it. [14] An alternative model has been proposed, whereby unfolded proteins interact directly with the ER-lumenal domain of Ire1, causing oligomerization and transautophosphorylation. [14] However these models are not mutually exclusive, it is also possible that both direct interaction of Ire1 with unfolded proteins and dissociation of BiP from IRE1 contribute to the activation of the Ire1 pathway.
The initial phases of UPR activation have two key roles:
Translation Attenuation and Cell Cycle Arrest by the PERK Receptor This occurs within minutes to hours of UPR activation to prevent further translational loading of the ER. PERK (protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase) activates itself by oligomerization and autophosphorylation of the free luminal domain. The activated cytosolic domain causes translational attenuation by directly phosphorylating the α subunit of the regulating initiator of the mRNA translation machinery, eIF2. [15] This also produces translational attenuation of the protein machinery involved in running the cell cycle, producing cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase. [16] PERK deficiency may have a significant impact on physiological states associated with ER stress.
Increased Production of Proteins Involved in the Functions of the UPR UPR activation also results in upregulation of proteins involved in chaperoning malfolding proteins, protein folding and ERAD, including further production of Grp78. Ultimately this increases the cell's molecular mechanisms by which it can deal with the misfolded protein load. These receptor proteins have been identified as:
The aim of these responses is to remove the accumulated protein load whilst preventing any further addition to the stress, so that normal function of the ER can be restored as soon as possible.
If the UPR pathway is activated in an abnormal fashion, such as when obesity triggers chronic ER stress and the pathway is constitutively active, this can lead to insensitivity to insulin signaling and thus insulin resistance. Individuals suffering from obesity have an elevated demand placed on the secretory and synthesis systems of their cells. This activates cellular stress signaling and inflammatory pathways because of the abnormal conditions disrupting ER homeostasis.
A downstream effect of the ER stress is a significant decrease in insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of tyrosine residues of insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1), which is the substrate for insulin tyrosine kinase (the insulin receptor). C-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is also activated at high levels by IRE-1α, which itself is phosphorylated to become activated in the presence of ER stress. Subsequently, JNK phosphorylates serine residues of IRS-1, and thus inhibits insulin receptor signaling. IRE-1α also recruits tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2). This kinase cascade that is dependent on IRE-1α and JNK mediates ER stress–induced inhibition of insulin action. [23]
Obesity provides chronic cellular stimuli for the UPR pathway as a result of the stresses and strains placed upon the ER, and without allowing restoration to normal cellular responsiveness to insulin hormone signaling, an individual becomes very likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Skeletal muscles are sensitive to physiological stress, as exercise can impair ER homeostasis. This causes the expression of ER chaperones to be induced by the UPR in response to the exercise-induced ER stress. Muscular contraction during exercise causes calcium to be released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), a specialized ER network in skeletal muscles. This calcium then interacts with calcineurin and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases that in turn activate transcription factors. These transcription factors then proceed to alter the expression of exercise-regulated muscle genes. PGC-1alpha, a transcriptional coactivator, is a key transcription factor involved in mediating the UPR in a tissue-specific manner in skeletal muscles by coactivating ATF6alpha. Therefore, PGC-1alpha gets expressed in muscles after acute and long-term exercise training. The function of this transcription factor is to increase the number and function of mitochondria, as well as to induce a switch of skeletal fibers to slow oxidative muscle fibers, as these are fatigue-resistant. Therefore, this UPR pathway mediates changes in muscles that have undergone endurance training by making them more resistant to fatigue and protecting them from future stress. [24]
In conditions of prolonged stress, the goal of the UPR changes from being one that promotes cellular survival to one that commits the cell to a pathway of apoptosis. Proteins downstream of all 3 UPR receptor pathways have been identified as having pro-apoptotic roles. However, the point at which the 'apoptotic switch' is activated has not yet been determined, but it is a logical consideration that this should be beyond a certain time period in which resolution of the stress has not been achieved. The two principal UPR receptors involved are Ire1 and PERK.
By binding with the protein TRAF2, Ire1 activates a JNK signaling pathway, [25] at which point human procaspase 4 is believed to cause apoptosis by activating downstream caspases.
Although PERK is recognised to produce a translational block, certain genes can bypass this block. An important example is that the proapoptotic protein CHOP (CCAAT/-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein), is upregulated downstream of the bZIP transcription factor ATF4 (activating transcription factor 4) and uniquely responsive to ER stress. [26] CHOP causes downregulation of the anti-apoptotic mitochondrial protein Bcl-2, [27] favouring a pro-apoptotic drive at the mitochondria by proteins that cause mitochondrial damage, cytochrome c release and caspase 3 activation.
Diseases
Diseases amenable to UPR inhibition include Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. [28]
Endoplasmic reticulum stress was reported to play a major role in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) induction and progression. High fat diet fed rats showed increased ER stress markers CHOP, XBP1, and GRP78. ER stress is known to activate hepatic de novo lipogenesis, inhibit VLDL secretion, promote insulin resistance and inflammatory process, and promote cell apoptosis. Thus it increase the level of fat accumulation and worsens the NAFLD to a more serious hepatic state. [29] Zingiber officinale (ginger) extract and omega‐3 fatty acids were reported to ameliorate endoplasmic reticulum stress in a nonalcoholic fatty liver rat model. [29]
As stated above, the UPR can also be activated as a compensatory mechanism in disease states. For instance, the UPR is up-regulated in an inherited form of dilated cardiomyopathy due to a mutation in gene encoding the Phospholamban protein. [30] Further activation proved therapeutic in a human induced pluripotent stem cell model of PLN mutant dilated cardiomyopathy. [30]
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a part of a transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). The endoplasmic reticulum is found in most eukaryotic cells and forms an interconnected network of flattened, membrane-enclosed sacs known as cisternae, and tubular structures in the SER. The membranes of the ER are continuous with the outer nuclear membrane. The endoplasmic reticulum is not found in red blood cells, or spermatozoa.
Protein disulfide isomerase, or PDI, is an enzyme in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in eukaryotes and the periplasm of bacteria that catalyzes the formation and breakage of disulfide bonds between cysteine residues within proteins as they fold. This allows proteins to quickly find the correct arrangement of disulfide bonds in their fully folded state, and therefore the enzyme acts to catalyze protein folding.
Peter Walter is a German-American molecular biologist and biochemist. He is currently the Director of the Bay Area Institute of Science at Altos Labs and an emeritus professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator until 2022.
Heat shock factor protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSF1 gene. HSF1 is highly conserved in eukaryotes and is the primary mediator of transcriptional responses to proteotoxic stress with important roles in non-stress regulation such as development and metabolism.
Heat shock protein 90kDa beta member 1 (HSP90B1), known also as endoplasmin, gp96, grp94, or ERp99, is a chaperone protein that in humans is encoded by the HSP90B1 gene.
X-box binding protein 1, also known as XBP1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the XBP1 gene. The XBP1 gene is located on chromosome 22 while a closely related pseudogene has been identified and localized to chromosome 5. The XBP1 protein is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes important to the proper functioning of the immune system and in the cellular stress response.
Activating transcription factor 6, also known as ATF6, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the ATF6 gene and is involved in the unfolded protein response.
Binding immunoglobulin protein (BiPS) also known as 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP-78) or heat shock 70 kDa protein 5 (HSPA5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSPA5 gene.
DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), is a pro-apoptotic transcription factor that is encoded by the DDIT3 gene. It is a member of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family of DNA-binding transcription factors. The protein functions as a dominant-negative inhibitor by forming heterodimers with other C/EBP members, preventing their DNA binding activity. The protein is implicated in adipogenesis and erythropoiesis and has an important role in the cell's stress response.
Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha kinase 3, also known as protein kinase R (PKR)-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the EIF2AK3 gene.
The serine/threonine-protein kinase/endoribonuclease inositol-requiring enzyme 1 α (IRE1α) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ERN1 gene.
KDEL (Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu) endoplasmic reticulum protein retention receptor 1, also known as KDELR1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the KDELR1 gene.
Cysteine-rich with EGF-like domain protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CRELD2 gene found on chromosome 22q13. It is a known homolog of CRELD1. CRELD2's identifying feature is a tryptophan-aspartic acid domain. It is a multifunctional glycoprotein that is approximately 60 kilodaltons and can reside in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or Golgi apparatus and be secreted spontaneously. It is implicated in numerous ER stress-related diseases including chronic liver disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer.
Proteostasis is the dynamic regulation of a balanced, functional proteome. The proteostasis network includes competing and integrated biological pathways within cells that control the biogenesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation of proteins present within and outside the cell. Loss of proteostasis is central to understanding the cause of diseases associated with excessive protein misfolding and degradation leading to loss-of-function phenotypes, as well as aggregation-associated degenerative disorders. Therapeutic restoration of proteostasis may treat or resolve these pathologies.
The bZIP intron RNA motif is an RNA structure guiding splicing of a non-canonical intron from bZIP-containing genes called HAC1 in yeast, XBP1 in Metazoa, Hxl1 or Cib1 in Basidiomycota and bZIP60 in plants. Splicing is performed independently of the spliceosome by Ire1, a kinase with endoribonuclease activity. Exons are joined by a tRNA ligase. Recognition of the intron splice sites is mediated by a base-paired secondary structure of the mRNA that forms at the exon/intron boundaries. Splicing of the bZIP intron is a key regulatory step in the unfolded protein response (UPR). The Ire-mediated unconventional splicing was first described for HAC1 in S. cerevisiae.
Beta cells are heavily engaged in the synthesis and secretion of insulin. They are therefore particularly sensitive to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the subsequent unfolded protein response (UPR). Severe or prolonged episodes of ER stress can lead to the death of beta cells, which can contribute to the development of both type I and type II diabetes.
The integrated stress response is a cellular stress response conserved in eukaryotic cells that downregulates protein synthesis and upregulates specific genes in response to internal or environmental stresses.
David Ron FRS is a British biochemist.
The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) is a cellular stress response related to the mitochondria. The UPRmt results from unfolded or misfolded proteins in mitochondria beyond the capacity of chaperone proteins to handle them. The UPRmt can occur either in the mitochondrial matrix or in the mitochondrial inner membrane. In the UPRmt, the mitochondrion will either upregulate chaperone proteins or invoke proteases to degrade proteins that fail to fold properly. UPRmt causes the sirtuin SIRT3 to activate antioxidant enzymes and mitophagy.
FIC domain protein adenylyltransferase (FICD) is an enzyme in metazoans possessing adenylylation and deadenylylation activity (also known as (de)AMPylation), and is a member of the Fic (filamentation induced by cAMP) domain family of proteins. AMPylation is a reversible post-translational modification that FICD performs on target cellular protein substrates. FICD is the only known Fic domain encoded by the metazoan genome, and is located on chromosome 12 in humans. Catalytic activity is reliant on the enzyme's Fic domain, which catalyzes the addition of an AMP (adenylyl group) moiety to the substrate. FICD has been linked to many cellular pathways, most notably the ATF6 and PERK branches of the UPR (unfolded protein response) pathway regulating ER homeostasis. FICD is present at very low basal levels in most cell types in humans, and its expression is highly regulated. Examples of FICD include HYPE (Huntingtin Yeast Interacting Partner E) in humans, Fic-1 in C. elegans, and dfic in D. melanogaster.
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