It's All in Your Mind: Determining Germ Cell Fate by Neuronal IRE-1 in C. elegans

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004747
• Publication Date: 2014-10-23T21:06:20Z
• Authors: Mor Levi-Ferber; Yehuda Salzberg; Modi Safra; Anat Haviv-Chesner; Hannes E. Bülow; Sivan Henis-Koren...
• Keywords: Cell fate determination

The C. elegans germline is pluripotent and mitotic, similar to self-renewing mammalian tissues. Apoptosis triggered as part of the normal oogenesis program, increased in response various stresses. Here, we examined effect endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on apoptosis germline. We demonstrate that pharmacological or genetic induction ER enhances apoptosis. This process mediated by sensor IRE-1, but independent its canonical downstream target XBP-1. further ire-1-dependent requires both CEP-1/p53 same apoptotic genes DNA damage-induced Strikingly, find activation ire-1, specifically ASI neurons, not germ cells, sufficient induce implies related can be determined at organism level, a result active IRE-1 signaling neurons. Altogether, our findings uncover ire-1 novel cell non-autonomous regulator apoptosis, linking homeostasis sensory neurons fate.