Disruptions of protein folding and maturation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) result in the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), an integrated cellular signaling pathway that transmits information from the ER lumen to the cytoplasm and nucleus. Activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) as well as the ER-transmembrane protein kinases IRE1p and PERK are the major transducers of the UPR. ATF6 is an ER transmembrane protein that is normally bound to the ER chaperone GRP78, but upon ER stress is released from GRP78 and proteolytically cleaved to yield a cytosolic fragment which then migrates to the nucleus, and together with the transcription factor XBP-1, activates transcription of UPR-responsive genes. ATF6 has two isoforms (ATF6α and ATF6β); only ATF6α is recognized by this antibody.
