TFE3 is a bHLH-ZIP-type transcription factor that regulates the mammalian Golgi stress response.

The Golgi stress response is a mechanism by which, under conditions of insufficient Golgi function (Golgi stress), the transcription of Golgi-related genes is upregulated through an enhancer, the Golgi apparatus stress response element (GASE), in order to maintain homeostasis in the Golgi. The molecular mechanisms associated with GASE remain to be clarified. Here, we identified TFE3 as a GASE-binding transcription factor. TFE3 was phosphorylated and retained in the cytoplasm in normal growth conditions, whereas it was dephosphorylated, translocated to the nucleus and activated Golgi-related genes through GASE under conditions of Golgi stress, e.g. in response to inhibition of oligosaccharide processing in the Golgi apparatus. From these observations, we concluded that the TFE3-GASE pathway is one of the regulatory pathways of the mammalian Golgi stress response, which regulates the expression of glycosylation-related proteins in response to insufficiency of glycosylation in the Golgi apparatus.