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Hiderou Yoshida

Publications and source records attributed to Hiderou Yoshida.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Reduction of disulfide bridges in the lumenal domain of ATF6 in response to glucose starvation.

Mammalian transcription factor ATF6 is constitutively synthesized as a type II transmembrane protein embedded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Upon ER stress ATF6 is transported to the Golgi apparatus where it is cleaved to release its cytoplasmic domain. This is then translocated into the nucleus where it activates transcription of ER-localized molecular chaperones and folding enzymes to maintain the homeostasis of the ER. We recently found that, owing to the presence of intra- and intermolecular disulfide bridges, ATF6 occurs in unstressed ER in monomer, dimer and oligomer forms. Disulfide-bonded ATF6 is reduced on treatment of cells with various chemical ER stress inducers, and only the reduced monomer ATF6 reaches the Golgi apparatus. In this study, we evoked ER stress under more physiological conditions, namely, glucose starvation, and analyzed its consequence for ATF6 activation. Glucose starvation activated ATF6 and induced the ER chaperone BiP, albeit weakly. ATF6 was thus dissociated from BiP, transported to the Golgi apparatus, and cleaved. Glucose starvation enhanced the synthesis of ATF6 approximately two-fold, probably via transcriptional induction. Importantly, reduction of disulfide bridges and transport of reduced monomer occurred in response to glucose starvation. We conclude that ER stress-induced reduction of ATF6 represents a general feature of the ATF6 activation process.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

Analysis of ATF6 activation in Site-2 protease-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Mammalian transcription factor ATF6 is constitutively synthesized as a type II transmembrane protein embedded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). It is activated when unfolded proteins are accumulated in the ER under ER stress through a process called regulated intramembrane proteolysis (Rip), in which ATF6 is transported from the ER to the Golgi apparatus where it undergoes sequential cleavage by Site-1 and Site-2 proteases. The cytosolic transcription factor domain of ATF6 liberated from the Golgi membrane enters the nucleus where it activates transcription of ER-localized molecular chaperones and folding enzymes, leading to the maintenance of the homeostasis of the ER. Here, we analyzed M19 cells, a mutant of Chinese hamster ovary cells deficient in Site-2 protease. It was previously shown that M19 cells are defective in the induction of mRNA encoding the major ER chaperone BiP. In M19 cells, ATF6 was not converted from the membrane-bound precursor form to the cleaved and nuclear form as expected. Moreover, some of the ATF6 was constitutively relocated to the Golgi apparatus, where it was cleaved by Site-1 protease, and remained associated with the Golgi apparatus, indicating that the ER of M19 cells was constitutively stressed. Consistent with this notion, the two other ER stress response mediators, IRE1 and PERK, were also constitutively activated in M19 cells. M19 cells showed inefficient secretion of a model protein. These results suggest that Rip-mediated activation of ATF6 is important for the homeostasis of the ER in not only ER-stressed but also unstressed cells.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

XBP1 is critical to protect cells from endoplasmic reticulum stress: evidence from Site-2 protease-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cells.

XBP1 is a transcription factor downstream of IRE1, a transmembrane protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which functions as a sensor and transducer of ER stress. XBP1 mRNA is constitutively expressed at a low level as an intron-containing precursor mRNA (unspliced mRNA), which is subject to IRE1-mediated splicing reaction upon ER stress to produce the active form of XBP1, pXBP1(S). Because the XBP1 promoter carries a perfect ER stress-response element, namely, the cis-acting element responsible for the induction of ER chaperones, and XBP1 mRNA is induced in response to ER stress with a time course similar to that of ER chaperone mRNAs, it is conjectured that transcription factor ATF6, activated immediately upon ER stress, induces the transcription of not only ER chaperone genes but also of XBP1 gene, such that pXBP1(S) produced by the splicing of an increased level of XBP1 mRNA escapes from proteasome-mediated degradation. Here, we examined this notion by determining the induction of XBP1 mRNA and pXBP1(S) in mutant Chinese hamster ovary (M19) cells deficient in Site-2 protease, which executes the last step of ER stress-induced activation of ATF6. We found that the induction of XBP1 mRNA and pXBP1(S) was greatly reduced in M19 cells as compared with wild-type cells, leading to a marked reduction in the extent of induction of XBP1-target gene. M19 cells were much more sensitive to ER stress than wild-type cells. Importantly, overexpression of XBP1 unspliced mRNA in M19 cells reversed all of these phenotypes. We concluded that ATF6-mediated induction of XBP1 mRNA is important to the production of pXBP1(S), activation of XBP1-target genes, and protection of cells from ER stress.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

Role of disulfide bridges formed in the luminal domain of ATF6 in sensing endoplasmic reticulum stress.

ATF6 is a membrane-bound transcription factor activated by proteolysis in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to induce the transcription of ER chaperone genes. We show here that, owing to the presence of intra- and intermolecular disulfide bridges formed between the two conserved cysteine residues in the luminal domain, ATF6 occurs in unstressed ER in monomer, dimer, and oligomer forms. Disulfide-bonded ATF6 is reduced upon treatment of cells with not only the reducing reagent dithiothreitol but also the glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin, and the extent of reduction correlates with that of activation. Although reduction is not sufficient for activation, fractionation studies show that only reduced monomer ATF6 reaches the Golgi apparatus, where it is cleaved by the sequential action of the two proteases S1P and S2P. Reduced monomer ATF6 is found to be a better substrate than disulfide-bonded forms for S1P. ER stress-induced reduction is specific to ATF6 as the oligomeric status of a second ER membrane-bound transcription factor, LZIP/Luman, is not changed upon tunicamycin treatment and LZIP/Luman is well cleaved by S1P in the absence of ER stress. This mechanism ensures the strictness of regulation, in that the cell can only process ATF6 which has experienced the changes in the ER.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

pXBP1(U) encoded in XBP1 pre-mRNA negatively regulates unfolded protein response activator pXBP1(S) in mammalian ER stress response.

Upon the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER), X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) premessenger RNA (premRNA) is converted to mature mRNA by unconventional splicing that is mediated by the endonuclease inositol-requiring enzyme 1. The transcription factor protein (p) XBP1 spliced (S), which is translated from mature XBP1 mRNA, contains the nuclear localization signal and the transcriptional activation domain and activates the transcription of target genes, including those encoding ER chaperones in the nucleus. We show that pXBP1 unspliced (U) encoded in XBP1 pre-mRNA was constitutively expressed and markedly accumulated at the recovery phase of ER stress. pXBP1(U) contained the nuclear exclusion signal instead of the transcriptional activation domain and shuttled between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Interestingly, pXBP1(U) formed a complex with pXBP1(S), and the pXBP1(U)-pXBP1(S) complex was sequestered from the nucleus. Moreover, the complex was rapidly degraded by proteasomes because of the degradation motif contained in pXBP1(U). Thus, pXBP1(U) is a negative feedback regulator of pXBP1(S), which shuts off the transcription of target genes during the recovery phase of ER stress.

Animals↗

Derlin-2 and Derlin-3 are regulated by the mammalian unfolded protein response and are required for ER-associated degradation.

Proteins that are unfolded or misfolded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) must be refolded or degraded to maintain the homeostasis of the ER. Components of both productive folding and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) mechanisms are known to be up-regulated by the unfolded protein response (UPR). We describe two novel components of mammalian ERAD, Derlin-2 and -3, which show weak homology to Der1p, a transmembrane protein involved in yeast ERAD. Both Derlin-2 and -3 are up-regulated by the UPR, and at least Derlin-2 is a target of the IRE1 branch of the response, which is known to up-regulate ER degradation enhancing alpha-mannosidase-like protein (EDEM) and EDEM2, receptor-like molecules for misfolded glycoprotein. Overexpression of Derlin-2 or -3 accelerated degradation of misfolded glycoprotein, whereas their knockdown blocked degradation. Derlin-2 and -3 are associated with EDEM and p97, a cytosolic ATPase responsible for extraction of ERAD substrates. These findings indicate that Derlin-2 and -3 provide the missing link between EDEM and p97 in the process of degrading misfolded glycoproteins.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Activation of hepatitis B virus S promoter by a cell type-restricted IRE1-dependent pathway induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress.

IRE1-alpha is an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that is a key sensor in the cellular transcriptional response to stress in the ER. Upon induction of ER stress, IRE1-alpha is activated, resulting in the synthesis of the active form of the transcription factor XBP1 via IRE1-mediated splicing of its mRNA. In this report, we have examined the role of IRE1-alpha and XBP1 in activation of the hepatitis B virus S promoter by ER stress. Cotransfection experiments revealed that overexpression of either IRE1-alpha or XBP1 activated this promoter. Conversely, cotransfected dominant-negative IRE1-alpha or small interfering RNA directed against XBP1 decreased the activation of the S promoter by ER stress, confirming an important role for the IRE1-alpha/XBP1 signaling pathway in activation of the S promoter. However, XBP1 does not bind directly to the S promoter; rather, a novel S promoter-binding complex that does not contain XBP1 is induced in cells undergoing ER stress in an XBP1-dependent manner. This complex, as well as transcriptional activation of the S promoter, is induced by ER stress in hepatocytes but not in fibroblasts, despite the presence of active XBP1 in the latter. Thus, the hepatitis B virus S promoter responds to a novel, cell type-restricted transcriptional pathway downstream of IRE1-alpha and XBP1.

Animals↗

XBP1 is essential for survival under hypoxic conditions and is required for tumor growth.

Hypoxia within solid tumors is a major determinant of outcome after anticancer therapy. Analysis of gene expression changes during hypoxia indicated that unfolded protein response genes were one of the most robustly induced groups of genes. In this study, we investigated the hypoxic regulation of X-box binding protein (XBP1), a major transcriptional regulator of the unfolded protein response. Hypoxia induced XBP1 at the transcriptional level and activated splicing of its mRNA, resulting in increased levels of activated XBP1 protein. After exposure to hypoxia, apoptosis increased and clonogenic survival decreased in XBP1-deficient cells. Loss of XBP1 severely inhibited tumor growth due to a reduced capacity for these transplanted tumor cells to survive in a hypoxic microenvironment. Taken together, these studies directly implicate XBP1 as an essential survival factor for hypoxic stress and tumor growth.

Alternative Splicing↗

Activation of mammalian unfolded protein response is compatible with the quality control system operating in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Newly synthesized secretory and transmembrane proteins are folded and assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where an efficient quality control system operates so that only correctly folded molecules are allowed to move along the secretory pathway. The productive folding process in the ER has been thought to be supported by the unfolded protein response (UPR), which is activated by the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER. However, a dilemma has emerged; activation of ATF6, a key regulator of mammalian UPR, requires intracellular transport from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. This suggests that unfolded proteins might be leaked from the ER together with ATF6 in response to ER stress, exhibiting proteotoxicity in the secretory pathway. We show here that ATF6 and correctly folded proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus via the same route and by the same mechanism under conditions of ER stress, whereas unfolded proteins are retained in the ER. Thus, activation of the UPR is compatible with the quality control in the ER and the ER possesses a remarkable ability to select proteins to be transported in mammalian cells in marked contrast to yeast cells, which actively utilize intracellular traffic to deal with unfolded proteins accumulated in the ER.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

Differential contributions of ATF6 and XBP1 to the activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress-responsive cis-acting elements ERSE, UPRE and ERSE-II.

ATF6 and XBP1 are transcription factors activated specifically in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Three cis-acting elements capable of binding to ATF6, XBP1 or both have been identified to date, namely ER stress-response element (ERSE), unfolded protein response element (UPRE) and ERSE-II. ERSE controls the expression of ER-localized molecular chaperones such as BiP that can refold unfolded proteins in the ER; transcription from ERSE is fully activated by ATF6 even in the absence of XBP1. In contrast, transcription from UPRE depends solely on XBP1 and it has been suggested that UPRE may control the expression of components of the ER-associated degradation system that can degrade unfolded proteins in the ER. The Herp gene, one of the most highly inducible genes under ER stress, encodes an ER membrane protein containing a ubiquitin-like domain with unknown functions, and carries ERSE-II in addition to ERSE in its promoter. In this report, we show that ERSE-II allows the NF-Y-dependent binding of ATF6 as in the case of ERSE and NF-Y-independent binding of XBP1 as in the case of UPRE, and that transcription from ERSE-II is mitigated in the absence of XBP1. Accordingly, the induction of Herp mRNA was diminished in the absence of XBP1 whereas that of BiP mRNA was not affected. These results may help in understanding the role of Herp in the quality control system in the ER.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

The endoplasmic reticulum stress response is stimulated through the continuous activation of transcription factors ATF6 and XBP1 in Ins2+/Akita pancreatic beta cells.

The dominant C96Y mutation of one of the two murine insulin genes, Ins2, causes diabetes mellitus in 'Akita' mice. Here we established pancreatic islet beta cell lines from heterozygous mice (Ins2+/Akita). Western blot analysis of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) molecular chaperones indicated that Grp78, Grp94 and Orp150 are significantly increased in Ins2+/Akita cells compared with wild-type (Ins2+/+) cells. Reporter gene assays using the human GRP78 promoter with or without the ER stress response element (ERSE) showed that Ins2+/Akita cells exhibit significantly stronger ERSE-dependent transcriptional activity than Ins2+/+ cells. Transient over-expression of the Ins2 C96Y mutant in wild-type beta cells induces a stronger ERSE-dependent stress response than does wild-type Ins2 over-expression. The ERSE-binding transcription factor ATF6 is strongly activated in Ins2+/Akita cells. The activity of a reporter containing the specific binding sequence of another ERSE-binding transcription factor, XBP1, is also enhanced in Ins2+/Akita cells. Levels of active forms of XBP1 mRNA and protein are both markedly elevated in Ins2+/Akita cells. These results indicate that this cell line is subject to continuous ER stress and that the Ins2 C96Y mutation induces the expression of ER chaperones through the activation of ATF6 and XBP1.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

The fusion oncoprotein PML-RARalpha induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation of N-CoR and ER stress.

PML-RARalpha, a fusion protein of promyelocytic leukemia (PML) and the retinoic acid receptor-alpha (RARalpha), causes acute promyelocytic leukemias (APL). Although the role of nuclear PML-RARalpha has been extensively studied, a significant amount of PML-RARalpha is in the cytoplasm. The role cytoplasmic PML-RARalpha plays in leukemogenesis is unknown. Here we report that PML-RARalpha induces the N-CoR accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), leading to the induction of ER stress and the processing of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6), the unfolded protein response. PML-RARalpha stimulates the ubiquitylation of N-CoR via Ubc6 that is involved in the protein quality control. This ER-associated degradation (ERAD) of N-CoR reduces the soluble N-CoR protein levels in the nucleus. The two N-CoR-interacting sites in PML-RARalpha are required for the ERAD of N-CoR, suggesting the aberrant binding of PML-RARalpha to N-CoR may induce the ERAD of N-CoR. Overexpression of N-CoR induces the differentiation of APL-derived NB4 cells, suggesting that the low levels of N-CoR in the nucleus may contribute at least partly to PML-RARalpha-mediated leukemogenesis.

Cell Division↗

A serine protease inhibitor prevents endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced cleavage but not transport of the membrane-bound transcription factor ATF6.

Mammalian cells express several transcription factors embedded in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as transmembrane proteins that are activated by proteolysis, and two types of these proteins have been extensively investigated. One type comprises the sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP-1 and SREBP-2). The other type comprises the activating transcription factors 6 (ATF6alpha and ATF6beta), which are activated in response to ER stress. It was shown previously that both SREBP and ATF6 are cleaved sequentially first by the Site-1 protease (serine protease) and then by the Site-2 protease (metalloprotease) (Ye, J., Rawson, R. B., Komuro, R., Chen, X., Dave, U. P., Prywes, R., Brown, M. S., and Goldstein, J. L. (2000) Mol. Cell 6, 1355-1364). In this study, we examined various protease inhibitors and found that 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonyl fluoride (AEBSF), a serine protease inhibitor, prevented ER stress-induced cleavage of ATF6alpha and ATF6beta, resulting in inhibition of transcriptional induction of ATF6-target genes. AEBSF also inhibited production of the mature form of SREBP-2 that was induced in response to sterol depletion, and appeared to directly prevent cleavage of ATF6alpha and ATF6beta by inhibiting Site-1 protease. As the Site-1 protease is localized in the Golgi apparatus, both SREBP and ATF6 must relocate to the Golgi apparatus to be cleaved. We showed here that AEBSF treatment had little effect on ER stress-induced translocation of ATF6 from the ER to the Golgi apparatus, but blocked nuclear localization of ATF6. These results indicate that the transport of ATF6 from the ER to the Golgi apparatus and that from the Golgi apparatus to the nucleus are distinct steps that can be distinguished by treatment with AEBSF.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

A time-dependent phase shift in the mammalian unfolded protein response.

Unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) must be refolded or degraded to maintain homeostasis of the ER. The ATF6 and IRE1-XBP1 pathways are important for the refolding process in mammalian cells; activation of these transcriptional programs culminates in induction of ER-localized molecular chaperones and folding enzymes. We show here that degradation of misfolded glycoprotein substrates requires transcriptional induction of EDEM (ER degradation-enhancing alpha-mannosidase-like protein), and that this is mediated specifically by IRE1-XBP1 and not by ATF6. As XBP1 is produced after ATF6 activation, our results reveal a time-dependent transition in the mammalian unfolded protein response: an ATF6-mediated unidirectional phase (refolding only) is followed by an XBP1-mediated bidirectional phase (refolding plus degradation) as the response progresses.

Activating Transcription Factor 6↗

Dysfunction of the unfolded protein response during global brain ischemia and reperfusion.

A variety of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stresses trigger the unfolded protein response (UPR), a compensatory response whose most proximal sensors are the ER membrane-bound proteins ATF6, IRE1alpha, and PERK. The authors simultaneously examined the activation of ATF6, IRE1alpha, and PERK, as well as components of downstream UPR pathways, in the rat brain after reperfusion after a 10-minute cardiac arrest. Although ATF6 was not activated, PERK was maximally activated at 10-minute reperfusion, which correlated with maximal eIF2alpha phosphorylation and protein synthesis inhibition. By 4-h reperfusion, there was 80% loss of PERK immunostaining in cortex and 50% loss in brain stem and hippocampus. PERK was degraded in vitro by mu-calpain. Although inactive IRE1alpha was maximally decreased by 90-minute reperfusion, there was no evidence that its substrate xbp-1 messenger RNA had been processed by removal of a 26-nt sequence. Similarly, there was no expression of the UPR effector proteins 55-kd XBP-1, CHOP, or ATF4. These data indicate that there is dysfunction in several key components of the UPR that abrogate the effects of ER stress. In other systems, failure to mount the UPR results in increased cell death. As other studies have shown evidence for ER stress after brain ischemia and reperfusion, the failure of the UPR may play a significant role in reperfusion neuronal death.

Activating Transcription Factor 4↗