title: The unfolded protein response is required for dendrite morphogenesis.
abstract: Precise patterning of dendritic fields is essential for the formation and function of neuronal circuits. During development, dendrites acquire their morphology by exuberant branching. How neurons cope with the increased load of protein production required for this rapid growth is poorly understood. Here we show that the physiological unfolded protein response (UPR) is induced in the highly branched Caenorhabditis elegans sensory neuron PVD during dendrite morphogenesis. Perturbation of the IRE1 arm of the UPR pathway causes loss of dendritic branches, a phenotype that can be rescued by overexpression of the ER chaperone HSP-4 (a homolog of mammalian BiP/grp78). Surprisingly, a single transmembrane leucine-rich repeat protein, DMA-1, plays a major role in the induction of the UPR and the dendritic phenotype in the UPR mutants. These findings reveal a significant role for the physiological UPR in the maintenance of ER homeostasis during morphogenesis of large dendritic arbors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Audrey S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Howell
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Xintong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Caitlin A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Roshni C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States.
authors.forename: Jianqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, United States.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, United States.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000254:growth & development*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology*; D004722:Endoribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009024:Morphogenesis; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D056811:Unfolded Protein Response
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C569907:DMA-1 protein, C elegans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D004722:Endoribonucleases
keywords: C. elegans; cell biology; dendrite morphogenesis; leucine rich repeat; neuroscience; unfolded protein response