Mammalian apoptosis in a parasitic worm

Abstract

In mammalian cells, the Bcl-2 family proteins are central regulators of apoptosis (5, 6). These proteins fall into two classes, multidomain proteins that are either pro- or antiapoptotic and that share similarity in three or four regions (referred to as Bcl-2 homology domains, BH1–4), and the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins that are homologous in only a single region. Proapoptotic multidomain proteins (Bax and Bak) act at the mitochondrion and are essential for the cell death process. Upon activation, they homo-oligomerize to release factors such as cytochrome c that then interact with Apaf-1 (apoptotic protease activating factor 1) to initiate a proteolytic (caspase) cascade that executes cell death through cleavage …