Mechanisms of Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response

适应环境压力的能力对于所有生命形式的生存至关重要。微生物对压力作出反应的分子参与者和途径通常在高等生物中进化上是保守的。 因此，关于活细胞如何适应压力环境的最初发现通常是在研究细菌和酵母等简单生物体时首次发现的。我的研究计划的一个主要目标是确定细胞适应蛋白质展开压力的机制，通常称为未折叠蛋白质反应（UPR）。 这种进化上保守的压力适应存在于所有高等生物中，并用于克服许多环境挑战。 无法启动有效的普遍定期审议也与疾病状态有关。为了研究细胞如何安装有效的UPR的常见策略，我们正在使用模式生物粟酒裂殖酵母（裂殖酵母）。 我们使用裂变酵母是因为有丰富的科学工具可用于这种生物体;有完善的和可用的方法进行遗传和生化操纵。 此外，对于几个代谢过程，裂变酵母已被表征为与高等生物（包括人类）进化保守性方面最具代表性的微生物。 来自我们和其他小组的初步数据表明，裂变酵母以与其他简单生物体中所阐明的显著不同的方式安装有效的UPR，因此，在这个生命系统中研究这种应激反应可能为我们提供独特的见解，了解其他细胞，包括人类细胞，如何适应压力。 因此，我的研究计划致力于解决缺乏关于粟酒裂殖酵母中未折叠蛋白反应的知识，并研究其进化保守性和分歧的性质。阐明了S.粟酒裂殖酵母将有助于推断高等生物的相关途径，将提供对微生物生长条件特征的深入了解，并可能有助于设计新的抗微生物剂。

The capacity to adapt to environmental stresses is critical for the viability of all life forms. The molecular players and pathways by which microbes respond to stress are often evolutionarily conserved in higher organisms. It is therefore common that the initial discoveries for how living cells adapt to stressful situations are first made while studying simple organisms like bacteria and yeast. A major goal of my research program is to identify the mechanisms by which cells adapt to the stress of having their proteins become unfolded, commonly known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). This evolutionarily conserved stress adaptation is found in all higher organisms and is used to overcome a number of environmental challenges. The inability to activate an effective UPR has also been implicated in disease states. To study common strategies of how cells mount an effective UPR, we are using the model organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast). We use fission yeast because of the richness of scientific tools available for this organism; there are well-established and available methods for both its genetic and biochemical manipulation. Furthermore, for several metabolic processes, fission yeast has been characterized as the most representative microbe in terms of evolutionary conservation with higher organisms, including humans. Preliminary data from both our and other groups indicate that fission yeast mount an effective UPR in a significantly different way than has been elucidated in other simple organisms, and as such the study of this stress response in this living system may provide us with unique insight into how other cells, including human cells, adapt to stress. Thus, my research program is dedicated to addressing the lack of knowledge about the unfolded protein response in S.pombe and to examine the nature of its evolutionary conservation and divergence. The elucidation of mechanisms of stress adaptation in S. pombe will be useful in extrapolating related pathways in higher organisms, will provide insight into the characterization of microbial growth conditions, and may assist in the design of new anti-microbials.