BAX activation is initiated at a novel interaction site |
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Authors: | Gavathiotis Evripidis Suzuki Motoshi Davis Marguerite L Pitter Kenneth Bird Gregory H Katz Samuel G Tu Ho-Chou Kim Hyungjin Cheng Emily H-Y Tjandra Nico Walensky Loren D |
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Institution: | Department of Pediatric Oncology and the Program in Cancer Chemical Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. |
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Abstract: | BAX is a pro-apoptotic protein of the BCL-2 family that is stationed in the cytosol until activated by a diversity of stress stimuli to induce cell death. Anti-apoptotic proteins such as BCL-2 counteract BAX-mediated cell death. Although an interaction site that confers survival functionality has been defined for anti-apoptotic proteins, an activation site has not been identified for BAX, rendering its explicit trigger mechanism unknown. We previously developed stabilized alpha-helix of BCL-2 domains (SAHBs) that directly initiate BAX-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. Here we demonstrate by NMR analysis that BIM SAHB binds BAX at an interaction site that is distinct from the canonical binding groove characterized for anti-apoptotic proteins. The specificity of the human BIM-SAHB-BAX interaction is highlighted by point mutagenesis that disrupts functional activity, confirming that BAX activation is initiated at this novel structural location. Thus, we have now defined a BAX interaction site for direct activation, establishing a new target for therapeutic modulation of apoptosis. |
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