How do cells signal stress to each other across tissues?

• Grant number: 25/15364-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology
• Agreement: Serrapilheira Institute
• Principal Investigator: Evandro Araújo de Souza
• Grantee: Evandro Araújo de Souza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Bettina Malnic ; Danilo Bilches Medinas

Abstract

I will use protein aggregation sensors, genetics, and targeted lipid analysis in C. elegans and mice to test whether non-canonical signals (such as changes in lipid metabolism), rather than misfolded proteins alone, can trigger endoplasmic reticulum stress responses in distant tissues. This will help determine whether alternative, non-classical mechanisms drive cell-to-cell stress communication. By comparing neural-induced stress responses across tissues and species, the project aims to uncover conserved mechanisms of systemic stress response coordination, advancing our understanding of how organisms maintain cellular homeostasis. (AU)