In response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, activation of pancreatic ER kinase (PERK) signaling adapts cells to stressful conditions by phosphorylating eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α (eIF2α). Phosphorylation of eIF2α inhibits global protein translation but stimulates the expression of numerous stress-responsive genes by inducing the transcription factor ATF4. A large number of studies have shown that activation of PERK signaling has beneficial or detrimental effects in various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including neurodegenerative diseases, myelin disorders, CNS injuries, among others. This chapter is devoted to describing the practical methods for the detection of PERK signaling in CNS diseases.
Keywords: ATF4; CHOP; GADD34; Immunofluorescence; Neuron; Oligodendrocyte; PERK; Phosphorylated eIF2α; Real-time PCR; Western blot.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.