title: Endoplasmic reticulum stress associated with extracellular aggregates. Evidence from transthyretin deposition in familial amyloid polyneuropathy.
abstract: The hallmark of familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is the presence of extracellular deposits of transthyretin (TTR) aggregates and amyloid fibers in several tissues, particularly in the peripheral nervous system. The molecular pathways to neurodegeneration in FAP still remain elusive; activation of nuclear factor kappaB, pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, and pro-apoptotic caspase-3 has been demonstrated "in vivo" in clinical samples and in cell culture systems. In this study, we investigated the involvement of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in FAP by showing activation of the classical unfolded protein response pathways in tissues not specialized in TTR synthesis but presenting extracellular TTR aggregate and fibril deposition. We also proved cytotoxicity by Ca2+ efflux from the ER in cell cultures incubated with TTR oligomers. Taken together, these studies evidence ER stress associated with a extracellular signal in a misfolding disorder.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), 4150 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro Filipe
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), 4150 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cerca
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), 4150 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), 4150 Porto, Portugal; Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto, 4099 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: mjsaraiv@ibmc.up.pt.
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Saraiva
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism; D028227:Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D017510:Protein Folding; D012469:Salivary Glands; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D011228:Prealbumin; D002118:Calcium