title: IAPs: what's in a name?
abstract: Originally described in insect viruses, cellular proteins with Baculoviral IAP repeat (BIR) motifs have been thought to function primarily as inhibitors of apoptosis. The subsequent finding that a subset of IAPs that contain a RING domain have ubiquitin protein ligase (E3) activity implied the presence of other functions. It is now known that IAPs are involved in mitotic chromosome segregation, cellular morphogenesis, copper homeostasis, and intracellular signaling. Here, we review the current understanding of the roles of IAPs in apoptotic and nonapoptotic processes and explore the notion that the latter represents the primary physiologic activities of IAPs.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Srinivasa M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Srinivasula
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ashwell
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002465:Cell Movement; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D051034:Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; D003300:Copper