Author(s):
Wissing, Silke 
; Ludovico, Paula ; Herker, Eva ; Buttner, Sabrina ; Engelhardt, Silvia ; Decker, Thorsten ; Link, Alexander ; Proksch, Astrid ; Rodrigues, Fernando José dos Santos ; Côrte-Real, Manuela ; Frohlich, Kai-Uwe ; Manns, Joachim ; Candé, Céline ; Sigrist, Stephen J. ; Kroemer, Guido ; Madeo, Frank
Date: 2004
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/1713
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): Yeast; Apoptosis
Description
Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), a key regulator of cell
death, is essential for normal mammalian development
and participates in pathological apoptosis.
The proapoptotic nature of AIF and its mode of action are
controversial. Here, we show that the yeast AIF homologue
Ynr074cp controls yeast apoptosis. Similar to mammalian
AIF, Ynr074cp is located in mitochondria and translocates
to the nucleus of yeast cells in response to apoptotic stimuli.
Purified Ynr074cp degrades yeast nuclei and plasmid DNA.
YNR074C
disruption rescues yeast cells from oxygen stress
and delays age-induced apoptosis. Conversely, overexpression
of Ynr074cp strongly stimulates apoptotic cell death induced
by hydrogen peroxide and this effect is attenuated by disruption
of cyclophilin A or the yeast caspase
YCA1.
We
conclude that Ynr074cp is a cell death effector in yeast and
rename it AIF-1 (Aif1p, gene
AIF1).
