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Updated: Sep 27, 2025

Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c
Published on: June 29, 2011
Cell demise inhibited: Unexpected liaisons between mitochondria and IκΒα
1Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. University of California San Francisco, CA, USA.
Abstract:
IκΒα (the protein product of NFKBIA gene) has widely been considered a pro- apoptotic factor due to its ability to inhibit the anti-apoptotic transcription factor NFκB. Our findings indicate that IκΒα also exerts a strong anti-apoptotic activity at the outer mitochondria membrane (OMM). This function we uncovered is distinct from its ability to sequester and inhibit NFκB. IκΒα instead binds to voltage dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) and Hexokinase 2 (HK2), stabilizes this complex and prevents mitochondria outer membrane permeabilisation (MOMP) and apoptosis.
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