Balancing neuronal death.
Although it is apparent that neuronal death must be tightly regulated to ensure the proper development and mature functions of the nervous system, the molecular details of this regulation are not fully understood. In multiple neurodegenerative diseases, there is inappropriate death of cells in the nervous system. A better understanding of how death is regulated in the normal nervous system can provide a framework for determining how this regulation can go awry during neurodegenerative disease. The key executioners of neuronal apoptosis, the caspases, are regulated at several levels. The endogenous inhibitor of apoptosis family of proteins, the IAPs, can suppress caspase activity. In this Mini-Review, we examine what is known about the function of IAPs in normal neuronal function and in disease.
Prunell
Giselle F
GF
Departments of Pathology and Neurology, Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Troy
Carol M
CM
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011506:Proteins
D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D011506:Proteins