2. Academic Validation
  3. A novel 21-kDa cytochrome c-releasing factor is generated upon treatment of human leukemia U937 cells with geranylgeraniol

A novel 21-kDa cytochrome c-releasing factor is generated upon treatment of human leukemia U937 cells with geranylgeraniol

  • Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2006 Jul 28;346(2):454-60. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.161.
Yutaka Masuda 1,  Sayoko Maeda,  Akiko Watanabe,  Yoshihiro Sano,  Toshihiro Aiuchi,  Shigeo Nakajo,  Hiroyuki Itabe,  Kazuyasu Nakaya
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Laboratory of Biological Chemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
PMID: 16765912 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.05.161
Abstract

Geranylgeraniol (GGO) induces Apoptosis in various lines of human tumor cells through a mitochondrion-dependent pathway. The present study describes identification of a 21-kDa cytochrome c-releasing factor that appears in the cytosolic fraction after treatment of human leukemia U937 cells with GGO. Incubation of isolated mitochondria with a lysate of U937 cells that had been treated with GGO resulted in the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. Utilizing this cell-free system, we purified a 21-kDa protein that induced the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria and appeared to be involved in the Apoptosis that is induced in U937 cells by GGO. We designated this protein cytochrome c-releasing factor 21 (CRF21). Overexpression of CRF21 in HeLa cells induced the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, with subsequent Apoptosis. Our results suggest that CRF21 might play an important role in the induction of Apoptosis by GGO in leukemia U937 cells.

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