“Proteostatic Stress as a Novel Mediator of Mitochondria-induced Cellular Degeneration” will be presented by Xin Jie Chen, associate professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University.

Mitochondrial dysfunction causes many degenerative diseases by mechanisms including energy depletion, increased ROS production, altered stress signaling, defect in iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis, and the release of pro-apoptotic factors. Our recent studies provided evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction leads to global proteostatic stress which contributes to cell death. We identified a cytosolic proteostatic network that suppresses mitochondria-induced proteostatic stress. These pathways offer great promise for the development of anti-degenerative interventions.