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Cytochrome c dissociation and release from mitochondria by truncated Bid and ceramide
Hua Yuan1, Scott D Williams, Souichi Adachi
1Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
We have examined the effects of truncated Bid (tBid) and ceramide on mitochondrial membrane integrity and cytochrome c release, using mitochondria with intact outer membranes. While tBid permeabilizes the outer membrane and efficiently stimulates cytochrome c release, digitonin is unable to cause cytochrome c release in the absence of salt. Ceramides did not permeabilize the mitochondrial outer membrane, and stimulated cytochrome c release only in the presence of digitonin. Taken together, these observations support a model for cytochrome c release in which the first step is dissociation from the inner membrane followed by transit across the outer membrane.
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