Little Balls of Stress: Understanding the Activation Pathway of Resveratrol-Induced Stress Granules

Stratton, Katherine

Student Work

Little Balls of Stress: Understanding the Activation Pathway of Resveratrol-Induced Stress Granules

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When eukaryotic cells experience short-term stressors, they may produce stress granules (SGs) through the phosphorylation of translational regulator eIF2α in the integrated stress response (ISR) pathway. The ISR is triggered by one of four specialized kinases reacting to stressors. Resveratrol—a stilbene produced by several plants in response to stress—has been hypothesized to produce SGs in eukaryotes through the phosphorylation reaction in the ISR. The goal of this project was to confirm if eIF2α phosphorylation is required for resveratrol-induced SG formation, and which kinase reacts to Rsv to form SGs. Using fluorescence microscopy, SG presence was scored in two separate Rsv acute exposure assays using MEFs: the first used an eIF2α S51A mutant that inactivated eIF2α phosphorylation to determine if Rsv SGs are eIF2α-dependent, and the second used PERK and HRI kinase knockouts to examine which kinase reacts to Rsv to trigger the ISR. It was found that Rsv-induced SGs are eIF2α dependent and formed through the involvement of the PERK ISR kinase.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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