Adult C. elegans neuronal XBP-1s dependent transcriptional changes in the intestine

The spliced and active transcription factor XBP-1s is the key mediator of the IRE-1 branch of the unfolded protein response of the endoplasmic reticulum (UPR-ER). When over-expressed neuronally in C. elegans, it coordinates increased longevity and enhanced ER stress resistance, through the activation of the UPR-ER in the intestine. In this study, we have isolated fluorescently-labelled intestinal cells from control and neuronal xbp-1s-expressing worms, to characterise the transcriptomic changes that take place cell non-autonomously in the intestine.