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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (3 results)

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UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2022)

Glia are the protectors of the nervous system, providing neurons with support and protection from cytotoxic insults. We previously discovered that four astrocyte-like glia can regulate organismal proteostasis and longevity in C. elegans. Expression of the UPRER transcription factor, XBP-1s, in these glia increases stress resistance, longevity, and activates the UPRER in intestinal cells via neuropeptides. Autophagy, a key regulator of metabolism and aging, has been described as a cell autonomous process. Surprisingly, we find that glial XBP-1s enhances proteostasis and longevity by cell non-autonomously reprogramming organismal lipid metabolism and activating autophagy. Glial XBP-1s regulates the activation of another transcription factor, HLH-30/TFEB, in the intestine. HLH-30 activates intestinal autophagy, increases intestinal lipid catabolism, and upregulates a robust transcriptional program. Our study reveals a novel role for glia in regulating peripheral lipid metabolism, autophagy, and organellar health through peripheral activation of HLH-30 and autophagy.

Cell non-autonomous signaling of organellar stress response pathways requires the detection of stress, release of a signal, detection of that signal in a separate tissue, and activation of the same stress response pathway in peripheral tissue. Here, I investigate the role of another signaling pathway, TGF-ꞵ, in the cell autonomous and cell non-autonomous signaling pathways of the UPRER, UPRmt, and HSR. Interestingly, I find that knockdown of components in the TGF-ꞵ pathway, specifically the DBL-1/SMA pathway, leads to a myriad of effects on the activation of transcriptional reporters of the UPRER, UPRmt, and HSR.

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  • Article
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2020)
The ability of the nervous system to sense cellular stress and coordinate protein homeostasis is essential for organismal health. Unfortunately, stress responses that mitigate disturbances in proteostasis, such as the unfolded protein response of the endoplasmic reticulum (UPRER), become defunct with age. In this work, we expressed the constitutively active UPRER transcription factor, XBP-1s, in a subset of astrocyte-like glia, which extended the life span in Caenorhabditis elegans Glial XBP-1s initiated a robust cell nonautonomous activation of the UPRER in distal cells and rendered animals more resistant to protein aggregation and chronic ER stress. Mutants deficient in neuropeptide processing and secretion suppressed glial cell nonautonomous induction of the UPRER and life-span extension. Thus, astrocyte-like glial cells play a role in regulating organismal ER stress resistance and longevity.
    Cover page: Four glial cells regulate ER stress resistance and longevity via neuropeptide signaling in C. elegans
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2020)
    Organisms are often exposed to fluctuating environments and changes in intracellular homeostasis, which can have detrimental effects on their proteome and physiology. Thus, organisms have evolved targeted and specific stress responses dedicated to repair damage and maintain homeostasis. These mechanisms include the unfolded protein response of the endoplasmic reticulum (UPRER), the unfolded protein response of the mitochondria (UPRMT), the heat shock response (HSR), and the oxidative stress response (OxSR). The protocols presented here describe methods to detect and characterize the activation of these pathways and their physiological consequences in the nematode, C. elegans. First, the use of pathway-specific fluorescent transcriptional reporters is described for rapid cellular characterization, drug screening, or large-scale genetic screening (e.g., RNAi or mutant libraries). In addition, complementary, robust physiological assays are described, which can be used to directly assess sensitivity of animals to specific stressors, serving as functional validation of the transcriptional reporters. Together, these methods allow for rapid characterization of the cellular and physiological effects of internal and external proteotoxic perturbations.
      Cover page: Measurements of Physiological Stress Responses in C. Elegans.
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