The p97 adaptor p47/NSFL1C is necessary for stress granule dissolution after heat stress

Stress granules form in response to diverse cellular perturbations to sequester translation components until the stress is resolved. Stress granules are composed of RNA-protein assemblies in membrane-delimited structures and must be rapidly disassembled to release components to allow translation to resume. Disassembly of stress granules formed in response to heat stress is dependent on ubiquitylation of stress granule components such as G3BP1. Ubiquitylation of stress granule proteins recruits the AAA-ATPase p97 (also known as VCP) to enable ubiquitin-dependent disassembly of these structures. Loss of p97 activity leads to the persistence of stress granules and is implicated in several age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we show that p97 recruitment to stress granules is dependent on its ubiquitin-binding co-factor p47. p47 translocates to stress granules in response to a variety of cellular stressors and is required for the recruitment of p97 to stress granules. Loss of p47 leads to an inhibition in stress granule disassembly. We further show that p47 associates with G3BP1 in response to heat stress in a ubiquitin-dependent manner. Taken together, our data add to the growing list of p97 adaptors that are implicated in the recruitment of p97 for the dissolution of stress granules.