Endoplasmic reticulum and unfolded protein response

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the advances of domestic and foreign research on reticulum stress and unfolded protein response,to review its molecular mechanism and the pathways of the cell survival and apoptosis associated with reticulum stress.METHODS:The full text database of PubMed and CNKI were searched,and the words endoplasmic reticulum stress/unfolded protein response/apoptosis were used as Key words:.To retrieve the literature about reticulum stress and unfolded protein response from Jan.1990 to Jan.2010,and then 24 were used in analysis at last.RESULTS:The reticulum(ER),an important intracellular organelle of eukary-ocyte,is the factory for folding and maturation of newly synthesized transmembrane and secretory proteins.Accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in ER leads to ER stress and triggers the unfolded protein response(UPR).UPR is a highly conserved self-protective mechanism by ameliorating the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER;however if ER stress is severe or protracted,cell apoptosis may be induced.CONCLUSION:Though the molecular mechanism of reticulum stress and unfolded protein response is clear,there are still present some questions,and so it needs further study.