ATF4 is necessary and sufficient for ER stress-induced upregulation of REDD1 expression

Michael L. Whitney, Leonard S. Jefferson, Scot R. Kimball

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    147 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    In response to a variety of cell stresses, e.g. endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, expression of REDD1 (regulated in development and DNA damage responses) is transcriptionally upregulated. However, the mechanism through which ER stress acts to upregulate REDD1 expression is unknown. In the present study, REDD1 expression was found to be upregulated by ER stress in several cell lines. However, in MEF cells lacking the eIF2α kinase PERK, ER stress failed to upregulate REDD1 expression, demonstrating that phosphorylation of eIF2α was necessary for the effect. Moreover, ER stress led to upregulated expression of the transcription factor ATF4, but in MEF cells lacking ATF4, REDD1 mRNA expression was not increased by ER stress. In contrast, exogenous expression of ATF4 was sufficient to induce REDD1 expression. Overall, the results suggest that REDD1 expression is upregulated during ER stress through a mechanism involving activation of PERK, phosphorylation of eIF2α, and increased ATF4 expression.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)451-455
    Number of pages5
    JournalBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
    Volume379
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Feb 6 2009

    All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

    • Biophysics
    • Biochemistry
    • Molecular Biology
    • Cell Biology

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