gadd153, also known as chop, is a highly stress-inducible gene that is robustly expressed following disruption of homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (so-called ER stress). Although all reported types of ER stress induce expression of Gadd153, its role in the stress response has remained largely undefined. Several studies have correlated Gadd153 expression with cell death, but a mechanistic link between Gadd153 and apoptosis has never been demonstrated. To address this issue we employed a cell model system in which Gadd153 is constitutively overexpressed, as well as two cell lines in which Gadd153 expression is conditional. In all cell lines, overexpression of Gadd153 sensitized cells to ER stress. Investigation of the mechanisms contributing to this effect revealed that elevated Gadd153 expression results in the down-regulation of Bcl2 expression, depletion of cellular glutathione, and exaggerated production of reactive oxygen species. Restoration of Bcl2 expression in Gadd153-overexpressing cells led to replenishment of glutathione and a reduction in levels of reactive oxygen species, and it protected cells from ER stress-induced cell death. We conclude that Gadd153 sensitizes cells to ER stress through mechanisms that involve down-regulation of Bcl2 and enhanced oxidant injury.

We sought to understand the relationship between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) in cardiac myocytes based on the observation of increased ROS production at sites of spontaneously deenergized mitochondria. We devised a new model enabling incremental ROS accumulation in individual mitochondria in isolated cardiac myocytes via photoactivation of tetramethylrhodamine derivatives, which also served to report the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, ΔΨ. This ROS accumulation reproducibly triggered abrupt (and sometimes reversible) mitochondrial depolarization. This phenomenon was ascribed to MPT induction because (a) bongkrekic acid prevented it and (b) mitochondria became permeable for calcein (∼620 daltons) concurrently with depolarization. These photodynamically produced “triggering” ROS caused the MPT induction, as the ROS scavenger Trolox prevented it. The time required for triggering ROS to induce the MPT was dependent on intrinsic cellular ROS-scavenging redox mechanisms, particularly glutathione. MPT induction caused by triggering ROS coincided with a burst of mitochondrial ROS generation, as measured by dichlorofluorescein fluorescence, which we have termed mitochondrial “ROS-induced ROS release” (RIRR). This MPT induction/RIRR phenomenon in cardiac myocytes often occurred synchronously and reversibly among long chains of adjacent mitochondria demonstrating apparent cooperativity. The observed link between MPT and RIRR could be a fundamental phenomenon in mitochondrial and cell biology.