Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway
In nature, many animals respond to cold by entering hibernation, while in clinical settings, controlled cooling is used in transplantation and emergency medicine. However, the molecular mechanisms that enable cells to survive severe cold are still not fully understood. One key aspect of cold adaptat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-05-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/101186 |
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| author | Melanie Lianne Engelfriet Yanwu Guo Andreas Arnold Eivind Valen Rafal Ciosk |
| author_facet | Melanie Lianne Engelfriet Yanwu Guo Andreas Arnold Eivind Valen Rafal Ciosk |
| author_sort | Melanie Lianne Engelfriet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In nature, many animals respond to cold by entering hibernation, while in clinical settings, controlled cooling is used in transplantation and emergency medicine. However, the molecular mechanisms that enable cells to survive severe cold are still not fully understood. One key aspect of cold adaptation is the global downregulation of protein synthesis. Studying it in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we find that the translation of most mRNAs continues in the cold, albeit at a slower rate, and propose that cold-specific gene expression is regulated primarily at the transcription level. Supporting this idea, we found that the transcription of certain cold-induced genes is linked to the activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) through the conserved IRE-1/XBP-1 signaling pathway. Our findings suggest that this pathway is triggered by cold-induced perturbations in proteins and lipids within the endoplasmic reticulum, and that its activation is beneficial for cold survival. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bbec01bb58ea463ab784fc27889d7a28 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-bbec01bb58ea463ab784fc27889d7a282025-08-20T02:11:31ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-05-011310.7554/eLife.101186Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathwayMelanie Lianne Engelfriet0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0209-9492Yanwu Guo1Andreas Arnold2Eivind Valen3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1840-6108Rafal Ciosk4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2234-6216Section for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwaySection for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDivision of Molecular Neuroscience, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; University Psychiatric Clinics, University of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandSection for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwaySection for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayIn nature, many animals respond to cold by entering hibernation, while in clinical settings, controlled cooling is used in transplantation and emergency medicine. However, the molecular mechanisms that enable cells to survive severe cold are still not fully understood. One key aspect of cold adaptation is the global downregulation of protein synthesis. Studying it in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we find that the translation of most mRNAs continues in the cold, albeit at a slower rate, and propose that cold-specific gene expression is regulated primarily at the transcription level. Supporting this idea, we found that the transcription of certain cold-induced genes is linked to the activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) through the conserved IRE-1/XBP-1 signaling pathway. Our findings suggest that this pathway is triggered by cold-induced perturbations in proteins and lipids within the endoplasmic reticulum, and that its activation is beneficial for cold survival.https://elifesciences.org/articles/101186hypothermiahibernationcold dormancyglobal translationUPRER stress |
| spellingShingle | Melanie Lianne Engelfriet Yanwu Guo Andreas Arnold Eivind Valen Rafal Ciosk Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway eLife hypothermia hibernation cold dormancy global translation UPR ER stress |
| title | Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway |
| title_full | Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway |
| title_fullStr | Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway |
| title_short | Reprograming gene expression in ‘hibernating’ C. elegans involves the IRE-1/XBP-1 pathway |
| title_sort | reprograming gene expression in hibernating c elegans involves the ire 1 xbp 1 pathway |
| topic | hypothermia hibernation cold dormancy global translation UPR ER stress |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/101186 |
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