title: Porin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces apoptosis in an epithelial cell line derived from rat seminal vesicles.
abstract: Micromolar concentrations of porin, purified from the outer membranes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, induced in vitro the classic morphological and biochemical signs of apoptosis in an epithelial cell line (SVC1) derived from the rat seminal vesicle secretory epithelium. The programmed cell death (PCD) was p53 independent and associated with significant decrease of bcl-2 expression, a marked increase of c-myc transcriptional activity, and an absence of the mRNA coding for tissue transglutaminase. The Ca(2+) influx, caused by the porin treatment of SVC1 cells, appears to play an important role in the triggering of apoptosis in our biological model. The possibility that the porin property of inducing PCD plays a role in the infertility of individuals chronically infected by gram-negative bacteria is discussed.
authors.affiliation: CNR International Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, Area di Ricerca del C.N.R., Medical School, 2nd University of Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Buommino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Morelli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metafora
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossano
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perfetto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baroni
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tufano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018272:Porins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / Q000378:metabolism; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa; D051381:Rats; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000473:pathology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018272:Porins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D002118:Calcium