PUMA与心肌细胞凋亡的研究进展

p53上调的凋亡调节物(p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis,PUMA)是新近发现的一种具有促凋亡作用的p53靶基因.与以往发现的其他p53靶基因比较,PUMA在促凋亡作用中有两个重要的特点:一是PUMA几乎介导p53依赖的所有凋亡信号;二是PUMA不仅介导p53依赖的凋亡信号,而且还可以介导p53非依赖的凋亡信号.也就是说,尽管PUMA是p53靶基因,但是其在p53非依赖细胞凋亡中也发挥重要作用.由此可见,PUMA是一个强大的促凋亡因子.在心肌细胞,PUMA参与缺血/再灌注、内质网应激、阿霉素等多种刺激诱导的细胞凋亡.因此,PUMA在心肌细胞凋亡中发挥重要作用.

Advance in PUMA and Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis

p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) is a recently identified p53 target gene which can induce apoptosis. Compared with other p53 target genes, p53 has two important characteristics. One is that PUMA almost mediates all p53-dependent apoptotic signals. The other is that PUMA is not only required for p53-dependent apoptotic pathway, but also for p53-independent apoptotic pathway. That means although PUMA is p53 target gene, it is also necessary for p53-independent apoptosis. In cardiomyocytes, PUMA is involved in apoptosis induced by various stimulations such as ischemia/reperfusion, endoplasmic reticulum stress. Therefore, PUMA plays a pivotal role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis.