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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

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Activation of Apoptosis by Cytoplasmic Microinjection of Cytochrome c
Published on: June 29, 2011
Apaf1はアポトーシスのミトコンドリア経路と脳の発達に必須です
H Yoshida1, Y Y Kong, R Yoshida
1The Amgen Institute, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Canada.
Cell
|September 30, 1998
まとめ
Apaf1 (アポプトティック・プロテアゼ活性化因子1) は,プログラムされた細胞死と正常な発達に不可欠です. マウスの体内でのその欠乏は,重度の頭蓋の欠陥とアポトーシスの障害を引き起こし,その重要な役割を強調した.
科学分野:
- 細胞生物学 細胞生物学
- 発達生物学 発達生物学とは
- 遺伝学 遺伝学とは
背景:
- アポトーシス,またはプログラムされた細胞死は,細胞のホメオスタシスと適切な発達を維持するために不可欠です.
- Apaf1 (Apoptotic protease activating factor 1) は,アポトーシスに関与する哺乳類の重要なタンパク質で,C. elegans CED-4と同型である.
研究 の 目的:
- 遺伝子ターゲティングされたApaf1-/-マウスを用いてApaf1のインビボ機能を調査する.
- 様々なアポプトシス経路におけるApaf1の役割とその発達への影響を決定する.
主な方法:
- 遺伝子ターゲティングされたApaf1-/-マウスの生成と分析.
- Apaf1欠乏細胞および組織におけるアポトーシスの評価.
- カスパース処理とアポプトシス刺激に対する反応の評価.
主要な成果:
- Apaf1欠乏したマウスは,脳アポトーシスの減少,重大な頭蓋の異常,神経細胞の過剰増殖を示した.
- Apaf1欠乏細胞は,複数のアポプトシス刺激に対する抵抗性を示し,Caspases 2, 3, 8.の処理が損なわれた.
- タイモサイトとTリンパ球におけるファス誘発アポトーシスは,アパフ1独立であり,経路の特異性を示した.
結論:
- Apaf1は,ミトコンドリアに依存したアポトーシスの中心的な役割を果たし,多くの細胞死プロセスにおける一般的な経路です.
- Apaf1の機能は,正常な胚の発達,特に頭蓋の顔面組織と神経組織において極めて重要です.
関連する概念動画
Mitochondrial Precursor Proteins
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Apoptosis
Apoptosis is a combination of two Greek words, 'apo' and 'ptosis,' meaning separation and falling off, respectively. Hippocrates used this word to describe gangrene, which was caused due to bandaging of fractured bones. Apoptosis was distinguished from necrosis in 1970 when John Kerr reported observations of morphological changes occurring during apoptosis. During one experiment, he observed that the disruption of blood supply to the liver tissue resulted in a size reduction of the tissue.
Caspases
Caspase, a family of cysteine proteases, serve as effectors in apoptosis. The ced3 gene in C.elegans was first identified to be involved in apoptosis. This gene encodes the ced-3 caspase that is similar to the interleukin-1-beta converting enzyme or ICE in mammals. In addition to apoptosis, caspases also function in the inflammatory response. Inflammatory caspases are essential in activating pro-inflammatory cytokines that recruit immune cells and block the replication of pathogens inside cells.
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The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
Internal cellular stress, such as cellular injury or hypoxia, triggers intrinsic apoptosis. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins are the primary regulators of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. For example, during DNA damage, checkpoint proteins, such as Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM protein) and Checkpoints Factor-2 (Chk2) proteins, are activated. These proteins phosphorylate p53 which further activates pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, PUMA, and Noxa, and inhibits...
Cellular Injury V: Apoptosis and Autophagy
Cells respond to damage and stress through highly coordinated processes that decide whether they survive or undergo controlled self-destruction. Two major pathways involved in this regulation are apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death, and autophagy, a survival mechanism that helps cells adapt to adverse conditions.ApoptosisApoptosis removes aged or injured cells to maintain tissue balance. During this process, the cell shrinks, chromatin condenses and fragments, and membrane-bound...

