The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing

Ageing involves a time-dependent decline in a variety of intracellular mechanisms and is associated with cellular senescence. This can be exacerbated by prion diseases which can occur in a sporadic manner, predominantly during the later stages of life. Prions are infectious, self-templating proteins...

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Main Authors: Shaun H. Speldewinde, Chris M. Grant
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Shared Science Publishers OG 2017-03-01
Series:Microbial Cell
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Online Access:http://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/the-frequency-of-yeast-psi-prion-formation-is-increased-during-chronological-ageing/
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author Shaun H. Speldewinde
Chris M. Grant
author_facet Shaun H. Speldewinde
Chris M. Grant
author_sort Shaun H. Speldewinde
collection DOAJ
description Ageing involves a time-dependent decline in a variety of intracellular mechanisms and is associated with cellular senescence. This can be exacerbated by prion diseases which can occur in a sporadic manner, predominantly during the later stages of life. Prions are infectious, self-templating proteins responsible for several neurodegenerative diseases in mammals and several prion-forming proteins have been found in yeast. We show here that the frequency of formation of the yeast [PSI+] prion, which is the altered form of the Sup35 translation termination factor, is increased during chronological ageing. This increase is exacerbated in an atg1 mutant suggesting that autophagy normally acts to suppress age-related prion formation. We further show that cells which have switched to [PSI+] have improved viability during chronological ageing which requires active autophagy. [PSI+] stains show increased autophagic flux which correlates with increased viability and decreased levels of cellular protein aggregation. Taken together, our data indicate that the frequency of [PSI+] prion formation increases during yeast chronological ageing, and switching to the [PSI+] form can exert beneficial effects via the promotion of autophagic flux.
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spelling doaj-art-8c0be892dee94ae89c11cb2785cafcb62025-08-20T02:57:37ZengShared Science Publishers OGMicrobial Cell2311-26382017-03-014412713210.15698/mic2017.04.568The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageingShaun H. Speldewinde0Chris M. Grant1University of Manchester, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.University of Manchester, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.Ageing involves a time-dependent decline in a variety of intracellular mechanisms and is associated with cellular senescence. This can be exacerbated by prion diseases which can occur in a sporadic manner, predominantly during the later stages of life. Prions are infectious, self-templating proteins responsible for several neurodegenerative diseases in mammals and several prion-forming proteins have been found in yeast. We show here that the frequency of formation of the yeast [PSI+] prion, which is the altered form of the Sup35 translation termination factor, is increased during chronological ageing. This increase is exacerbated in an atg1 mutant suggesting that autophagy normally acts to suppress age-related prion formation. We further show that cells which have switched to [PSI+] have improved viability during chronological ageing which requires active autophagy. [PSI+] stains show increased autophagic flux which correlates with increased viability and decreased levels of cellular protein aggregation. Taken together, our data indicate that the frequency of [PSI+] prion formation increases during yeast chronological ageing, and switching to the [PSI+] form can exert beneficial effects via the promotion of autophagic flux.http://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/the-frequency-of-yeast-psi-prion-formation-is-increased-during-chronological-ageing/prionyeastchronological ageingautophagy
spellingShingle Shaun H. Speldewinde
Chris M. Grant
The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
Microbial Cell
prion
yeast
chronological ageing
autophagy
title The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
title_full The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
title_fullStr The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
title_full_unstemmed The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
title_short The frequency of yeast [PSI+] prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
title_sort frequency of yeast psi prion formation is increased during chronological ageing
topic prion
yeast
chronological ageing
autophagy
url http://microbialcell.com/researcharticles/the-frequency-of-yeast-psi-prion-formation-is-increased-during-chronological-ageing/
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