Coordinate involvement of cysteine protease and nuclease in the executive phase of plant apoptosis.
We have developed an oat cell-free apoptosis system to investigate the execution mechanisms of plant apoptosis. Cell extracts derived from oat tissues undergoing toxin (victorin)-induced apoptosis caused nuclear collapse and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in isolated nuclei. Pharmacological studies revealed that cysteine protease, which is E-64-sensitive but insensitive to caspase-specific inhibitors, is a crucial component in the morphological change of isolated nuclei, and that nuclease and the cysteine protease act cooperatively to induce the apoptotic DNA laddering. Interestingly, this finding is contrasted with those in well-studied animal cell-free systems in which an apoptotic endonuclease is solely responsible for the DNA fragmentation.
Kusaka
Koh
K
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Tada
Yasuomi
Y
Shigemi
Teppei
T
Sakamoto
Masaru
M
Nakayashiki
Hitoshi
H
Tosa
Yukio
Y
Mayama
Shigeyuki
S
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001312:Aurintricarboxylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D018554:Avena / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002457:Cell Extracts; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects; D002474:Cell-Free System; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004720:Endonucleases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007930:Leucine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000494:pharmacology
D002457:Cell Extracts; D015853:Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; D018744:DNA, Plant; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D001312:Aurintricarboxylic Acid; D004720:Endonucleases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D007930:Leucine; C024974:E 64