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Smac/DIABLO and cytochrome c are released from mitochondria through a similar mechanism during UV-induced apoptosis
Authors:L?L?Zhou  L?Y?Zhou  K?Q?Luo  Email author" target="_blank">D?C?ChangEmail author
Institution:(1) Department of Biology, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China;(2) Bioengineering Graduate Program, Department of Chemical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Abstract:During apoptosis, a key event is the release of Smac/DIABLO (an inhibitor of XIAP) and cytochrome c (Cyt-c, an activator of caspase-9) from mitochondria to cytosol. It was not clear, however, whether the releasing mechanisms of these two proteins are the same. Using a combination of single living-cell analysis and immunostaining techniques, we investigated the dynamic process of Smac and Cyt-c release during UV-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. We found that YFP-labeled Smac and GFP-labeled Cyt-c were released from mitochondria in the same time window, which coincided with the mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization. Furthermore, using immunostaining, we found that the endogenous Smac and Cyt-c were always released together within an individual cell. Finally, when cells were pre-treated with caspase inhibitor (z-VAD-fmk) to block caspase activation, the process of Smac release, like that of Cyt-c, was not affected. This was true for both YFP-labeled Smac and endogenous Smac. These results suggest that in HeLa cells, both Smac and Cyt-c are released from mitochondria during UV-induced apoptosis through the same permeability transition mechanism, which we believe is triggered by the aggregation of Bax in the outer mitochondrial membrane to form lipid-protein complex.
Keywords:apoptosis  caspase  cytochrome c  mitochondria  Smac/DIABLO
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