Signaling Role for H2S in Cell Response to Protein Misfolding
 

Alzheimer's/Parkinson's: Unexpected Signaling Role for Foul-Smelling Hydrogen Sulfide in Cell Response to Protein Misfolding

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1213114723.htm


When the cell is placed under stress, specifically when newly formed proteins are being manufactured in the ER so rapidly that they do not fold properly, rendering them non-functional, the cell must make a decision either to slow protein production to match its physiological requirements, which could restore proper protein folding, or, if that is not sufficient, to commit a form of suicide called apoptosis.

The surprise in the research performed by Tonks' team -- which is published online December 13 in Science Signaling -- is that H2S plays a critical role in the exquisitely tuned signaling pathway through which cells make this fateful determination.