1.The small molecule ISRIB reverses the effects of eIF2α phosphorylation on translation and stress granule assembly.
Sidrauski C1, McGeachy AM2, Ingolia NT2, Walter P1. Elife. 2015 Feb 26;4. doi: 10.7554/eLife.05033.
Previously, we identified ISRIB as a potent inhibitor of the integrated stress response (ISR) and showed that ISRIB makes cells resistant to the effects of eIF2α phosphorylation and enhances long-term memory in rodents (Sidrauski et al., 2013). Here, we show by genome-wide in vivo ribosome profiling that translation of a restricted subset of mRNAs is induced upon ISR activation. ISRIB substantially reversed the translational effects elicited by phosphorylation of eIF2α and induced no major changes in translation or mRNA levels in unstressed cells. eIF2α phosphorylation-induced stress granule (SG) formation was blocked by ISRIB. Strikingly, ISRIB addition to stressed cells with pre-formed SGs induced their rapid disassembly, liberating mRNAs into the actively translating pool. Restoration of mRNA translation and modulation of SG dynamics may be an effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by eIF2α phosphorylation, SG formation, and cognitive loss.
2.Partial restoration of protein synthesis rates by the small molecule ISRIB prevents neurodegeneration without pancreatic toxicity.
Halliday M1, Radford H1, Sekine Y2, Moreno J1, Verity N1, le Quesne J3, Ortori CA4, Barrett DA4, Fromont C5, Fischer PM5, Harding HP2, Ron D6, Mallucci GR7. Cell Death Dis. 2015 Mar 5;6:e1672. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2015.49.
Activation of the PERK branch of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in response to protein misfolding within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) results in the transient repression of protein synthesis, mediated by the phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α). This is part of a wider integrated physiological response to maintain proteostasis in the face of ER stress, the dysregulation of which is increasingly associated with a wide range of diseases, particularly neurodegenerative disorders. In prion-diseased mice, persistently high levels of eIF2α cause sustained translational repression leading to catastrophic reduction of critical proteins, resulting in synaptic failure and neuronal loss. We previously showed that restoration of global protein synthesis using the PERK inhibitor GSK2606414 was profoundly neuroprotective, preventing clinical disease in prion-infected mice. However, this occured at the cost of toxicity to secretory tissue, where UPR activation is essential to healthy functioning.
