No abstract

Organisms that protect their germ-cell lineages from damage often do so at considerable cost: limited metabolic resources become partitioned away from maintenance of the soma, leaving the ageing somatic tissues to navigate survival amid an environment containing damaged and poorly functioning proteins. Historically, experimental paradigms that limit reproductive investment result in lifespan extension. We proposed that germline-deficient animals might exhibit heightened protection from proteotoxic stressors in somatic tissues. We find that the forced re-investment of resources from the germ line to the soma in Caenorhabditis elegans results in elevated somatic proteasome activity, clearance of damaged proteins and increased longevity. This activity is associated with increased expression of rpn-6, a subunit of the 19S proteasome, by the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. Ectopic expression of rpn-6 is sufficient to confer proteotoxic stress resistance and extend lifespan, indicating that rpn-6 is a candidate to correct deficiencies in age-related protein homeostasis disorders.

Embryonic stem cells are able to replicate continuously in the absence of senescence and, therefore, are immortal in culture1,2. While genome stability is central for survival of stem cells; proteome stability may play an equally important role in stem cell identity and function. Additionally, with the asymmetric divisions invoked by stem cells, the passage of damaged proteins to daughter cells could potentially destroy the resulting lineage of cells. We hypothesized that stem cells have an increased proteostasis ability compared to their differentiated counterparts and asked whether proteasome activity differed among human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Notably, hESC populations exhibit a high proteasome activity that is correlated with increased levels of the 19S proteasome subunit PSMD11/RPN-63–5 and a corresponding increased assembly of the 26S/30S proteasome. Ectopic expression of PSMD11 is sufficient to increase proteasome assembly and activity. Proteasome inhibition affects pluripotency of hESCs inducing differentiation towards specific cell lineages. FOXO4, an insulin/IGF-1 responsive transcription factor associated with long lifespan in invertebrates6,7, regulates proteasome activity by modulating the expression of PSMD11 in hESCs. Our results establish a novel regulation of proteostasis in hESCs that links longevity and stress resistance in invertebrates with hESC function and identity.