Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in intestinal secretory cells has been linked with colitis in mice and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Endogenous intestinal glucocorticoids are important for homeostasis and glucocorticoid drugs are efficacious in IBD. In Winnie mice with intestinal ER stress caused by misfolding of the Muc2 mucin, the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) suppressed ER stress ...

The primary effect of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response or unfolded protein response (UPR) is to reduce the load of unfolded protein and promote survival. However, prolonged and severe ER stress leads to tissue injury and serious diseases. Thus, it is important to identify drugs that can attenuate ER stress for the treatment of diseases. Natural products continue to provide lead co...

While the factors that regulate the onset and progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are incompletely understood, recent investigations have revealed that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) are prominent in alveolar epithelial cells in this disease. Initial observations linking ER stress and IPF were made in cases of familial inte...

BACKGROUND Bitter Melon (BM) has been used as a functional food in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine for many generations and has gained a great deal of attention due to its apparent benefits in moderating some of the pathogenic processes in a variety of inflammatory conditions. BM extract (BME) has been shown to possess strong anti-oxidant properties. In addition, it can ameliorate oxida...

BACKGROUND The ER chaperone GRP78/BiP is a homolog of the Hsp70 family of heat shock proteins, yet GRP78/BiP is not induced by heat shock but instead by ER stress. However, previous studies had not considered more physiologically relevant temperature elevation associated with febrile hyperthermia. In this report we examine the response of GRP78/BiP and other components of the ER stress pathway ...

The presence of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and impaired ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) activity has been independently implicated in the pathophysiology of conformational diseases. Here, we reveal a link between ER stress and the functionality of the UPS. Treatment of cells with different ER stressors delayed the degradation of an ER reporter substrate and caused a subtle but consiste...

Stress signals that impair the function of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can lead to an accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER causing cell death. Recent studies have indicated that ER stress contributes to several diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders or diabetes. In the present study, we found that Akt down-regulation is important for inducing CHOP expression, an ER stress-induce...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is induced in many forms of chronic liver disease and may promote the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. The activator protein 1 (AP-1) complex is a transcription factor that promotes hepatic carcinogenesis in response to cellular stress. The aim of this study was to determine the role of ER stress in the regulation of the hepatic AP-1...

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important player in regulating protein synthesis and lipid metabolism. Perturbation of ER homeostasis, referred as "ER stress," has been linked to numerous pathological conditions, such as inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic disorders. The liver plays a central role in regulating nutrient and lipid metabolism. Accumulating evidence implicate...

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the organelle where secretory and membrane proteins are synthesized and folded. Unfolded proteins that are retained within the ER can cause ER stress. Eukaryotic cells have a defense system called the "unfolded protein response" (UPR), which protects cells from ER stress. Cells undergo apoptosis when ER stress exceeds the capacity of the UPR, which has been rev...