# Systemic Regulation of ER Proteostasis

> **NIH NIH F32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2022 · $69,802

## Abstract

Abstract
 Proper activation of cellular stress response pathways allows cells to adapt and maintain homeostasis
during stressful conditions. While these pathways are typically thought to be regulated within a cell, recent
studies in mice and C. elegans suggest that cellular stress experience in certain cells can distally activate stress
response in other tissues. For example, work from our lab have shown that neuronal activation of the
endoplasmic reticulum Unfolded Protein Response (UPRER) induces UPRER in the intestine of C. elegans,
promoting stress resistance and longevity. These findings clearly demonstrates the importance of systemic
regulation of ER proteostasis in organismal health. However, the mechanisms and the signaling molecules
underlying such inter-tissue regulation of ER proteostasis remain unknown.
 Our preliminary work has identified N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), an essential metabolite for protein
glycosylation, as a candidate signaling molecule for regulating ER proteostasis across cells. I propose to
elucidate mechanisms by which GlcNAc is released by stressed cells and utilized by recipient cells, and to
develop novel methods to examine in vivo tissue-to-tissue GlcNAc signaling using neuronal cell culture and C.
elegans models. This work will uncover how GlcNAc regulates systemic ER proteostasis, and establish novel
techniques to study how sugars and protein glycosylation mediate cell-cell communication.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10396458
- **Project number:** 5F32AG069388-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Chung Yin Kimberly Tsui
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $69,802
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10396458

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10396458, Systemic Regulation of ER Proteostasis (5F32AG069388-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10396458. Licensed CC0.

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