UMass Chan Medical School Faculty Publications

Title

FUS/TLS assembles into stress granules and is a prosurvival factor during hyperosmolar stress

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Neurology

Publication Date

2013-04-27

Document Type

Article

Subjects

RNA-Binding Protein FUS; Stress, Physiological

Disciplines

Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology | Cellular and Molecular Physiology | Neurology

Abstract

FUsed in Sarcoma/Translocated in LipoSarcoma (FUS/TLS or FUS) has been linked to several biological processes involving DNA and RNA processing, and has been associated with multiple diseases, including myxoid liposarcoma and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS-associated mutations cause FUS to associate with stalled translational complexes called stress granules under conditions of stress. However, little is known regarding the normal role of endogenous (non-disease linked) FUS in cellular stress response. Here, we demonstrate that endogenous FUS exerts a robust response to hyperosmolar stress induced by sorbitol. Hyperosmolar stress causes an immediate re-distribution of nuclear FUS to the cytoplasm, where it incorporates into stress granules. The redistribution of FUS to the cytoplasm is modulated by methyltransferase activity, whereas the inhibition of methyltransferase activity does not affect the incorporation of FUS into stress granules. The response to hyperosmolar stress is specific, since endogenous FUS does not redistribute to the cytoplasm in response to sodium arsenite, hydrogen peroxide, thapsigargin, or heat shock, all of which induce stress granule assembly. Intriguingly, cells with reduced expression of FUS exhibit a loss of cell viability in response to sorbitol, indicating a prosurvival role for endogenous FUS in the cellular response to hyperosmolar stress. J. Cell. Physiol. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DOI of Published Version

10.1002/jcp.24395

Source

J Cell Physiol. 2013 Apr 27. doi: 10.1002/jcp.24395. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of cellular physiology

PubMed ID

23625794

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