The role of the BH3-only protein BNIP3 in regulation of cell survival in the brain

细胞存活和死亡之间存在着平衡。随着人类的进化，细胞已经发展出保护策略，以防止生理应激杀死细胞。这可能是缺氧(低氧)或营养缺乏。在大脑中，这种保护方法对于维持正常功能是必不可少的。大脑是如何防止细胞死亡的，目前还不完全清楚。我们正在研究一种名为BNIP3的蛋白质，它可能是细胞生存的主控制器。BNIP3发现于脑细胞的细胞核中，在那里它可以导致细胞存活。BNIP3也可以以另一种较短的形式存在，以促进细胞存活。我们正在研究BNIP3是如何控制细胞存活和细胞死亡之间的平衡，通过评估在正常或生理压力下脑细胞中是否表达核或短型BNIP3，以及这是否有助于细胞生存反应。接下来，我们将定义哪些其他蛋白质与BNIP3结合，以及哪些基因被BNIP3阻断，从而控制大脑中的细胞生存。这项研究将回答有关细胞如何在大脑中生存的基本问题，并为细胞如何调控生存和死亡提供洞察力。

There is a balance between cell survival and death. As humans evolved, cells have developed protective strategies to prevent physiological stress from killing cells. This could be hypoxia (low oxygen) or nutrient deprivation. In the brain, this protective method is essential to maintain normal functions. How the brain prevents cell death is not completely understood. We are investigating a protein called BNIP3 that may act as a master controller for cell survival. BNIP3 is found in the nucleus of brain cells, where it could lead to cell survival. BNIP3 can also be found in an alternative shorter form promoting cell survival. We are investigating how BNIP3 is controlling the balance between cell survival and cell death, by evaluating whether nuclear or short form of BNIP3 are expressed in brain cells under normal or physiological stresses and whether this contributes to cell survival responses. Next we will define what other proteins bind to BNIP3 and what genes are blocked by BNIP3 leading to control of cell survival in the brain. This research will answer fundamental questions about how cells survive in the brain and provide insight on how cells regulate survival versus death.