Apoptotic protease activating factor 1 inducing apoptosis and related anti-tumor therapy -- review.
- Author:
Li-Li HE
1
;
Gui-Zhi SUN
;
Pei-Tong ZHANG
Author Information
1. Department of Oncology, Guang-an-men Hospital, Academy of Chinese Traditional Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China.
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH:
Apoptosis;
Apoptotic Protease-Activating Factor 1;
metabolism;
Caspase 9;
metabolism;
Humans;
Neoplasms;
therapy;
Signal Transduction
- From:
Journal of Experimental Hematology
2009;17(1):251-254
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf1) is an essential factor in intrinsic mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis activation. Apaf1 leads to the formation of apoptosome, which then proteolytically activates caspase-9. The activated caspase-9 opens the downstream signal of caspases to execute programmed cell death. Apaf-1 is important for tumor suppression and drug resistance because it plays a central role in DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Inactivation of the Apaf-1 gene is implicated in disease progression and chemoresistance of some malignancies. Further research on the Apaf-1 will contribute to develop a new type of approach to anti-cancer drugs, which might have good prospect in clinical practice. In this paper, the structure and function of Apaf-1, the mechanism involved in Apaf-1 signaling pathway, and application of Apaf-1 in tumor therapy were reviewed.
