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Cell Death Associated with Abnormal Mitosis Observed by Confocal Imaging in Live Cancer Cells
15:53

Cell Death Associated with Abnormal Mitosis Observed by Confocal Imaging in Live Cancer Cells

Published on: August 21, 2013

Characterization of NR13-related human cell death regulator, Boo/Diva, in normal and cancer tissues

R Lee1, J Chen, C P Matthews

  • 1Huntsman Cancer Institute and Section of Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. ray.lee@hci.utah.edu

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|September 22, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Human Boo/Diva, a Bcl-2 family protein, promotes cell death and localizes to mitochondria during apoptosis. Deletions in its gene suggest a role in cervical cancer development.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • The Bcl-2 family regulates apoptosis.
  • Boo/Diva is an ovary-specific Bcl-2 family member identified in mice.
  • Avian NR13 is a known cell death antagonist.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Identify and characterize the human orthologue of mouse Boo/Diva.
  • Investigate the role of human Boo/Diva in apoptosis and cell death.
  • Determine the potential involvement of human Boo/Diva in cervical cancer pathogenesis.

Main Methods:

  • Homology screening to identify human Boo/Diva.
  • EGFP tagging and subcellular localization studies.
  • Apoptosis induction using vincristine.
  • Cell viability assays in HeLa and 293 cells.
  • Interaction studies with Bcl-XL.
  • Chromosomal mapping and analysis of cervical cancer DNA samples.

Main Results:

  • Human Boo/Diva is conserved and expressed in multiple tissues including ovary, liver, and kidney.
  • EGFP-Boo/Diva translocates to mitochondria during vincristine-induced apoptosis.
  • Overexpression of human Boo/Diva induces cell death, unaffected by Bcl-XL.
  • Human Boo/Diva maps to chromosome 15q21.
  • Deletions in the Boo/Diva gene were observed in human cervical cancer samples.

Conclusions:

  • Human Boo/Diva is a pro-apoptotic protein that localizes to mitochondria during apoptosis.
  • The Boo/Diva gene is a potential tumor suppressor gene implicated in cervical cancer development.

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