Open AccessEndoplasmic reticulum stress activates telomerase
Author(s) -
Zhou Junzhi,
Mao Beibei,
Zhou Qi,
Ding Deqiang,
Wang Miao,
Guo Peng,
Gao Yuhao,
Shay Jerry W.,
Yuan Zengqiang,
Cong YuSheng
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aging cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1474-9726
pISSN - 1474-9718
DOI - 10.1111/acel.12161
Subject(s) - telomerase , endoplasmic reticulum , unfolded protein response , telomere , telomerase reverse transcriptase , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , dna damage , apoptosis , programmed cell death , cancer research , downregulation and upregulation , dna , genetics , gene
Summary Telomerase contributes to cell proliferation and survival through both telomere‐dependent and telomere‐independent mechanisms. In this report, we discovered that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress transiently activates the catalytic components of telomerase (TERT) expression in human cancer cell lines and murine primary neural cells. Importantly, we show that depletion of hTERT sensitizes cells to undergo apoptosis under ER stress, whereas increased hTERT expression reduces ER stress‐induced cell death independent of catalytically active enzyme or DNA damage signaling. Our findings establish a functional link between ER stress and telomerase, both of which have important implications in the pathologies associated with aging and cancer.