Research

How do cells sense, respond, and adapt to protein-folding stress or harmful RNAs?

Cells rely on complex cellular stress response networks to preserve homeostasis. Detecting and appropriately responding to internal imbalances allows the cell to maintain a healthy proteome and an intact genome. How do cells maintain the health of their transcriptome? How to different stress signaling pathways integrate to allow a cell to make decisions?

Harmful RNAs as stress signals

Cellular stress response networks monitor every cellular building block to maintain homeostasis. Deviations from homeostasis raise red flags such as unfolded proteins or DNA damage. How do harmful RNAs elicit similar responses?

Genetic modulators of stress responses

Cellular stress responses are finely tuned. Time- and context-dependent interactions between several hundred molecules allow this fine-tuning. Which genes modulate the cell's response to protein-folding stress or harmful RNAs and how do they do it?

Network re-wiring in disease

All cellular stress responses control the survival/death decision. Therefore, these homeostatic networks are often re-wired in disease, allowing abnormal cells to evade apoptosis and thrive. How does network re-wiring turn these finely tuned homeostats into maladaptive cytoprotectors?