Autophagy protects HUVECs against ER stress-mediated apoptosis under simulated microgravity

AbstractAstronauts exposed to a gravity-free environment experience cardiovascular deconditioning that causes post-spaceflight  orthostatic intolerance and other pathological conditions. Endothelial dysfunction is an important factor responsible for this alteration. Our previous study showed enhanced autophagy in endothelial cells under simulated microgravity. The present study explored the cytoprotective role of autophagy under microgravity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). We found that clinorotation for 48 h induced apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in HUVECs. ER stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) partially contributed to apoptosis under clinorotation. Autophagy partial ly reduced ER stress and restored UPR signaling by autophagic clearance of ubiquitin-protein aggregates, thereby reducing apoptosis. In addition, the ER stress antagonist 4-phenylbutyric acid upregulated autophagy in HUVECs. Taken together, these findings indicate that autophagy plays a protective r ole against apoptosis under clinorotation by clearing protein aggregates and partially restoring the UPR.
Source: Apoptosis - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research