Transcriptome profile of S. cerevisiae treated with tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA)

Cells respond to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress through activation of signaling pathways such as the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) which improve the ER folding environment capacity upon changes in misfolded protein burden. Small molecules termed chemical chaperones can attenuate the UPR under stress conditions and improve folding and trafficking of specific mutant proteins. One such compound is the bile acid tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Despite promising results in multiple models of protein folding diseases, TUDCA’s mechanism of action remains unclear. To better define how TUDCA attenuate ER stress, we leveraged the genetically tractable budding yeast, S. cerevisiae. Consistent with properties described for TUDCA, we found it significantly improves growth of yeast subjected to ER stress caused by the N-glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin (Tm) independently of activity of the UPR. In addition to other data, transcriptomics of strains treated with TUDCA link its ability to resuce Tm-induced stress with cell wall remodeling. mRNA from yeast grown in YPD treated with and without TUCDA