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TERT enhances the survival rate of human fibroblasts under endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and lysosomal stresses

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Abstract

Objective

The exposure of organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus (GA), and lysosomes, to stress activates death mechanisms. Recently, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) has been shown to be involved in cell survival. However, the relationship between TERT and the stress responses is still unclear. Here, we aimed to clarify the possible mechanisms of action through which TERT promotes cell survival by studying its effect on the stresses faced by multiple organelles in human fibroblasts.

Results

We found that TERT enhanced the survival rate of cells under ER stress, regardless of ER stress inducers such as tunicamycin (protein glycosylation inhibitor), thapsigargin (Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor), brefeldin A (protein transport inhibitor), or dithiothreitol (disulfide bond formation inhibitor). We also found that TERT enhanced the survival rate of cells under GA and lysosomal stresses.

Conclusion

Collectively, these results suggest that TERT suppresses cell stress and promotes cell survival via different mechanisms. These findings may offer new insights into the implications of TERT in the treatment of stress-induced conditions such as aging, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI and Takeda Science Foundations.

Supporting information

Supplementary Fig. 1—Overexpression of TERT in the TIG-3-TERT cell line.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacotherapy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 734-8553, Japan

    Amer Ali Abd El-Hafeez, Toru Hosoi, Kanako Nakatsu, Mina Thon & Koichiro Ozawa

  2. Global Career Design Center, Hiroshima University, 1-7-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima, 739-8514, Japan

    Amer Ali Abd El-Hafeez

  3. Pharmacology and Experimental Oncology Unit, Cancer Biology Department, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, 11796, Egypt

    Amer Ali Abd El-Hafeez

  4. Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553, Hiroshima, Japan

    Akira Shimamoto & Hidetoshi Tahara

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  1. Amer Ali Abd El-Hafeez
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  2. Toru Hosoi
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  3. Kanako Nakatsu
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  4. Mina Thon
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  6. Hidetoshi Tahara
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  7. Koichiro Ozawa
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Correspondence to Toru Hosoi or Koichiro Ozawa.

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The authors declare that there are no studies conducted with human participants or animals.

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Abd El-Hafeez, A.A., Hosoi, T., Nakatsu, K. et al. TERT enhances the survival rate of human fibroblasts under endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and lysosomal stresses. Biotechnol Lett 40, 915–922 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-018-2544-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-018-2544-1

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