Regulation and role of dynamin-related GTPases in C. elegans apoptosis

动力相关 GTP 酶在秀丽隐杆线虫细胞凋亡中的调节和作用

• 批准号: 8267817
• 负责人: BARBARA CONRADT
• 金额: $ 5.41万
• 依托单位: LUDWIG MAXIMILIAN UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-19 至 2012-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8267817
• 关键词: Regulation; role; dynamin; related; GTPases

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Key questions about apoptosis remain to be answered. For example, neither the role nor the regulation of dynamin-related GTPases is fully understood. Experiments are proposed that address these questions in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, an organism that has proven to be a powerful tool for apoptosis studies. Dynamin-related GTPases required for mitochondrial membrane dynamics have recently been implicated in apoptosis in worms and mammals. For example, the C. elegans dynamin-related protein DRP-1 is at least partially required for apoptosis and can be sufficient for apoptosis when ectopically expressed. How DRP-1 contributes to apoptosis is currently unclear. One model that has been proposed is that DRP-1 induces mitochondrial division thereby causing mitochondrial fragmentation; however this model remains to be tested. Furthermore, members of the family of Bcl-2-like proteins have been implicated in the regulation of dynamin-related GTPases in apoptotic cells. For example, in C. elegans, the Bcl-2 family members EGL-1 and CED-9 are required for DRP-1-mediated mitochondrial fragmentation in apoptotic cells. How EGL-1 and CED-9 regulate the activity of DRP-1 during apoptosis is currently unknown. However, our preliminary results suggest that CED-9 and DRP- 1 might physically interact in apoptotic cells. The goal of the proposed studies is to investigate the mechanisms through which DRP-1 contributes to apoptosis and to determine the role of the Bcl-2 family members EGL-1 and CED- 9 in the regulation of DRP-1 in apoptotic cells. To that end, we will use biochemical, cell- biological and genetic approaches and perform studies in C. elegans and in vitro. Deregulated apoptosis contributes to the development and manifestation of a number of diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Key questions about the biology of apoptosis remain to be answered and the studies proposed address some of these questions. Therefore, results from the proposed studies will improve our knowledge of apoptosis and hence our ability to understand and treat various human disorders.

描述（由申请人提供）：关于细胞凋亡的关键问题仍有待回答。例如，动力蛋白相关的GTP酶的作用和调节都没有完全理解。实验提出，解决这些问题的蠕虫秀丽隐杆线虫，一种生物体，已被证明是一个强大的工具，细胞凋亡研究。动力蛋白相关的GTP酶所需的线粒体膜动力学最近被牵连在蠕虫和哺乳动物的细胞凋亡。例如，C.线虫动力蛋白相关蛋白DRP-1至少部分是细胞凋亡所需的，并且当异位表达时足以用于细胞凋亡。DRP-1如何促进细胞凋亡目前尚不清楚。已经提出的一个模型是DRP-1诱导线粒体分裂，从而引起线粒体片段化;然而，该模型仍有待检验。此外，Bcl-2样蛋白家族的成员已经涉及凋亡细胞中动力蛋白相关的GTP酶的调节。例如，在C.在线虫中，Bcl-2家族成员EGL-1和CED-9是凋亡细胞中DRP-1介导的线粒体片段化所必需的。EGL-1和CED-9在细胞凋亡过程中如何调节DRP-1的活性目前尚不清楚。然而，我们的初步结果表明，CED-9和DRP- 1可能在凋亡细胞中发生物理相互作用。这些研究的目的是研究DRP-1促进细胞凋亡的机制，并确定Bcl-2家族成员EGL-1和CED- 9在凋亡细胞中DRP-1调节中的作用。为此，我们将使用生物化学，细胞生物学和遗传学的方法，并在C. elegans和in vitro. 细胞凋亡失调导致许多疾病的发生和表现，如癌症、自身免疫性疾病和神经退行性疾病。关于细胞凋亡生物学的关键问题仍有待回答，提出的研究解决了其中的一些问题。因此，这些研究的结果将提高我们对细胞凋亡的认识，从而提高我们理解和治疗各种人类疾病的能力。