植物细胞程序性死亡分子机制和信号转导

细胞程序化死亡(PCD)在植物的发育、抗病及植物与环境互作等过程中发挥着极其重要的作用.总结了植物细胞凋亡发生的特征及其检测技术,概括了植细胞凋亡的分子机制,综述了植物细胞凋亡相关激素种类及其信号转导机制,并对植物细胞凋亡存在的问题进行分析和展望.     

植物细胞凋亡的检测方法

细胞凋亡是一种在动、植物中普遍存在的现象,在动、植物的发育过程中起着非常重要的作用。从形态学、生化及分子生物学、免疫学、生理学等方面介绍了几种检测细胞凋亡的方法,以及各种方法在检测不同植物凋亡时的应用,并对植物细胞凋亡检测技术的前景进行了展望。     

细胞凋亡及其在软体动物中的研究进展

细胞凋亡对于植物和动物的正常发育和体内平衡的维持是至关重要的。虽然在低等动物和脊椎动物之间存在不同的凋亡机制,但是细胞凋亡死亡通路的重要生化组成在进化过程中仍然相当保守。目前关于软体动物的凋亡机制的研究还很少。本文对目前从软体动物中获得的数据进行总结,综述了软体动物细胞凋亡的研究进展。     

动物细胞凋亡相关基因在植物中的同源性研究进展

细胞凋亡是由基因调节的主动过程.对动物细胞凋亡相关基因在植物中的同源性的研究发现,dad-1基因的结构和功能在动物和植物中均具有保守性.动物中的其他细胞凋亡相关基因,如ras、myc、Rb、p53、bcl-2 等基因,在植物中均有其同源序列,有的在植物中找到了功能相似的基因.细胞凋亡的调控机制在生物进化过程中,不但具有一定程度的保守性,而且在调控机制上具有多样性.     

植物细胞凋亡的研究进展

大量的实验研究表明细胞凋亡普遍存在于植物中,对于植物的正常生长发育及病理过程具有十分重要的生物学意义。植物细胞与动物细胞凋亡有许多相似的特征;在凋亡过程中有核酸内切酶的激活以及类caspase的参与;尽管植物细胞与动物细胞凋亡具有相似特征和机制,但其独特的分子调控机理目前尚不清楚 。     

植物细胞凋亡的研究进展

大量的实验研究表明细胞凋亡普遍存在于植物中,对于植物的正常生长发育及病理过程具有十分重要的生物学意义。植物细胞与动物细胞凋亡有许多相似的特征;在凋亡过程中有核酸内切酶的激活以及类caspase的参与。尽管植物细胞与动物细胞凋亡具有相似特征和机制,但其独特的分子调控机理目前尚不清楚。     

家蚕凋亡相关基因研究进展

细胞凋亡指细胞受基因调控的自主的细胞死亡过程,是细胞为维持内环境稳态的一种手段。家蚕Bombyx mori是重要的鳞翅目模式昆虫,对其细胞凋亡机制的研究具有代表性。家蚕细胞凋亡不仅参与了整个变态发育过程,而且在家蚕天然免疫反应中扮演着重要角色。在家蚕卵-幼虫-蛹-成虫各阶段通过凋亡基因的调控促进组织退化及冗余细胞的清除,并且在家蚕抗家蚕核型多角体病毒(Bm NPV)过程中,细胞凋亡的发生对Bm NPV增殖的抑制也有着重要作用。本文就近年来家蚕细胞凋亡诱导因素、细胞凋亡相关基因的研究现状及通路和细胞凋亡对家蚕发育影响的研究进展进行综述,为解决目前家蚕细胞凋亡机制研究不足、内质网通路涉猎少、各通路间联系不清晰等问题,以及深入研究家蚕细胞凋亡并解析家蚕变态发育机制和天然免疫反应提供参考。     

峡视核——研究中枢神经系统发育及细胞凋亡的新模型

鸟类离中系统的峡视核是近年来研究中枢神经系统发育过程中细胞凋亡的新模型.在其发育过程中,随着核团的形成、折叠及分层,伴有一些与峡视核相关的临时神经通路的形成和消失,与此同时,该核团中神经元有一半以上发生细胞凋亡.研究表明,形成正确的传入和传出联系对神经元的存活十分重要.分子水平上的机制研究揭示,细胞凋亡与一系列神经营养因子及其相应的受体相关.细胞凋亡对中枢神经系统发育过程中正确神经通路的形成有重要意义.     

细胞凋亡信号途径与免疫系统之间的串流

细胞凋亡作为一种生命体的主要细胞死亡方式,在清除多余或受感染细胞中发挥重要作用.尽管在组织或胚胎正常发育过程中,细胞凋亡诱导免痉反应比较温和,但在病毒感染或者对死亡受体(death receptor.DR)进行刺激时凋亡可以触发强烈的天然和获得性免疫反应.凋亡信号途径中的分子与免疫系统有着复杂的相互作用.本文综述了有关凋亡性死亡在诱导炎症,维持免疫系统动态平衡,促进免疫应答以及凋亡信号途径和免疫系统抗病毒机制相互关系等方面的研究成果,分析细胞凋亡所诱发免疫效应的机制.     

植物生长发育中程序性细胞死亡

本文简要介绍了植物细胞凋亡的一些特点以及植物在营养生长和生殖生长过程中发生的细胞凋亡现象。指出细胞凋亡是植物生长发育过程中正常的生理现象。     

p53 activation inhibits ochratoxin A-induced apoptosis in monkey and human kidney epithelial cells via suppression of JNK activation

Ochratoxin A (OTA), one of the major food-borne mycotoxins, induces apoptosis in various types of cells. Induction of apoptosis is suggested to be one of the major cellular mechanisms behind OTA-induced diverse toxic effects. However, the molecular mechanisms involved, especially the role of p53 in OTA-induced apoptosis have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we find that p53 activation exerts pro-survival function to inhibit apoptosis induction in MARC-145, Vero monkey kidney cells and HEK293 human kidney cells in response to ochratoxin A treatment. We further demonstrate that the pro-survival activity of p53 is attributed to its ability to suppress JNK activation that mediates apoptotic signaling through down-regulation of Bcl-xL. To our knowledge, this is first report of pro-survival role of p53 in OTA-induced apoptosis in kidney epithelial cells. Our findings provide a novel insight into the mechanisms of OTA-induced apoptosis in kidney epithelial cells.     

Mechanical stress-induced apoptosis in the cardiovascular system

All tissues in the body are subjected to physical forces originating either from tension, created by cells themselves, or from the environment. Particularly, the cardiovascular system is continuously subjected to haemodynamic forces created by blood flow and blood pressure. While biomechanical force at physiological levels is essential to develop and maintain organic structure and function, elevated mechanical stress may result in cell death leading to pathological conditions. In recent years, however, it has been widely recognized that cell death, namely apoptosis, is not just the response to an injury but a highly regulated and controlled process. Therefore, physical stimuli must be sensed by cells and transmitted through intracellular signal transduction pathways to the nucleus, resulting in cell apoptosis. Disturbances in the regulatory mechanisms of apoptosis often precede the development of a disease. Exploration of the molecular signalling mechanisms leading to mechanical stress-induced apoptosis in cardiovascular disorders revealed the crucial role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of these diseases. For instance, heart failure, hypertension and atherosclerosis are believed to be related to sustained mechanical overloading or stress. In this review we summarize the recent data focusing on molecular mechanisms of mechanical stress-induced apoptosis and highlight the role of apoptosis in the development of cardiovascular disorders, which may lead to new therapeutic strategies for these diseases.     

钙离子信号与细胞凋亡

细胞凋亡的分子机制是什么?这个问题当前引起人们广泛的研究兴趣。作为重要的第二信使,钙信号在许多生理和细胞活动中都起到了十分重要的作用。钙信号是否也在凋亡的调控中起作用呢?虽然在过去十多年中,许多研究证据都表明钙信号参与凋亡的调控,但是,钙信号如何作用于凋亡过程的具体机理仍然是众说纷纭。事实上,许多研究结果仍存有争议。文章总结了近几年来大量关于钙信号与凋亡研究的成果,集中讨论了两个问题：1)在凋亡前期“决定阶段”有没有钙离子信号的参与?2)钙离子信号与哪些凋亡调控因子(包括Bcl-2族蛋白)相互作用及如何作用?这问题还牵涉到亚细胞结构中钙库的作用(包括细胞质、内质网和线粒体)。根据作者自己的实验结果,文章对这些文献中不同的说法作了一些具体的评估。最后,文章还提出了一个钙离子信号参与调控细胞凋亡的可能模型。     

Apoptosis in heart: basic mechanisms and implications in cardiovascular diseases

Apoptosis has been implicated in both acute and chronic heart diseases. The loss of myocardium is an important pathogenic process in heart and, hence, the inhibition of apoptosis is a promising therapeutic option. Significant progress has been made in demonstrating the role of apoptosis in various heart diseases, and in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of cardiac apoptosis. In addition, the effects of various hypertrophic signaling molecules on apoptosis have been characterized. However, the significance of apoptosis to the overall pathogenesis of heart failure, and the relationship between cardiac hypertrophic signaling and apoptosis still needs further investigation.     

Cell volume regulation in immune cell apoptosis

The loss of cell volume is an early and fundamental feature of programmed cell death or apoptosis; however, the mechanisms responsible for cell shrinkage during apoptosis are poorly understood. The loss of cell volume is not a passive component of the apoptotic process, and a number of experimental findings from different laboratories highlight the importance of this process as an early and necessary regulatory event in the signaling of the death cascade. Additionally, the loss of intracellular ions, particularly potassium, has been shown to play a primary role in cell shrinkage, caspase activation, and nuclease activity during apoptosis. Thus, an understanding of the role that ion channels and plasma membrane transporters play in cellular signaling during apoptosis may have important physiological implications for immune cells, especially lymphocyte function. Furthermore, this knowledge may also have an impact on the design of therapeutic strategies for a variety of diseases of the immune system in which apoptosis plays a central role, such as oncogenic processes or immune system disorders. The present review summarizes our appreciation of the mechanisms underlying the early loss of cell volume during apoptosis and their association with downstream events in lymphocyte apoptosis.     

Daxx overexpression in T-lymphoblastic Jurkat cells enhances caspase-dependent death receptor- and drug-induced apoptosis in distinct ways

The role of Daxx, in particular, its ability to promote or hinder apoptosis, still remains controversial. In order to elucidate the functional relevance of Daxx in apoptosis signaling of malignant lymphocytes, Jurkat T-cells were stably transfected with a Daxx-expressing vector or with the respective Daxx-negative control vector. We thus demonstrate that ectopic expression of Daxx substantially increases the rate of apoptosis upon incubation with death receptor agonists such as Fas and TRAIL as well as upon incubation with the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin (DOX). Analysis of the molecular changes induced in the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways reveals that augmentation of apoptosis by Daxx overexpression is conveyed by distinctly different mechanisms. Although enforced apoptosis caused by ectopic Daxx expression is caspase-dependent in both cases, major differences between Fas/TRAIL-induced apoptosis and doxorubicin-induced apoptosis are observed in expression patterns of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP), p53, Bid, ZIP kinase, and prostate apoptosis response gene 4 (Par-4). Moreover, we could show that addition of a CD95 blocking antibody to the clones treated with doxorubicin was able to increase apoptosis as compared to doxorubicin treatment alone and was accompanied by an enhancement of the mitochondrial branch of apoptosis. In conclusion, we here outline the major molecular mechanisms underlying the apoptosis-promoting effect of Daxx in neoplastic lymphocytes and demonstrate fundamental molecular differences elicited by the overexpression of Daxx in the extrinsic and intrinsic signaling pathways.     

Molecular steps of tumor necrosis factor receptor-mediated apoptosis

Until recently it was believed that TNF-induced apoptosis is mediated exclusively by TNF-RI because TNF-RII lacks death domain. However, it has been demonstrated that TNF-RII enhances TNF-RI-mediated apoptosis. In this review, I have discussed the evidence and mechanisms by which TNF-RII regulates TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. A role of RIP is emphasized and novel mechanisms of FLIP-mediated inhibition of apoptosis are discussed. In addition, various mechanisms of TNF-induced activation of mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis have been reviewed.