Drosophila homologs of baculovirus inhibitor of apoptosis proteins function to block cell death.
Apoptotic cell death is a mechanism by which organisms eliminate superfluous or harmful cells. Expression of the cell death regulatory protein REAPER (RPR) in the developing Drosophila eye results in a small eye owing to excess cell death. We show that mutations in thread (th) are dominant enhancers of RPR-induced cell death and that th encodes a protein homologous to baculovirus inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs), which we call Drosophila IAP1 (DIAP1). Overexpression of DIAP1 or a related protein, DIAP2, in the eye suppresses normally occurring cell death as well as death due to overexpression of rpr or head involution defective. IAP death-preventing activity localizes to the N-terminal baculovirus IAP repeats, a motif found in both viral and cellular proteins associated with death prevention.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley 94720-3200, USA.
B A
BA
Hay
D A
DA
Wassarman
G M
GM
Rubin
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005123:Eye / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000502:physiology; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008322:Mammals; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D010455:Peptides / Q000502:physiology; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000502:physiology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
C111891:DIAP1 protein, Drosophila; C111892:DIAP2 protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D014764:Viral Proteins; C086430:inhibitor of apoptosis, Nucleopolyhedrovirus; C086973:rpr protein, Drosophila