title: Aberrant expression of the apoptosis-related proteins BAK and MCL1 in T cells in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Pathogenic T cells of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been suggested to be endowed with an increased resistance to apoptosis, contributing to their increased survival. We report herein increased levels of the anti-apoptotic MCL1 protein and its half-life in activated lymphocytes of MS patients, which were not associated with differences in MCL1 RNA levels or with alterations in the expression levels of the known E3 ligases of MCL1-β-TrCP and HUWE1. Concomitantly, the expression levels of the pro-apoptotic protein BAK were decreased in MS patients at relapse. These findings suggest the dysregulation of the apoptosis-related proteins MCL1 and BAK in MS.
authors.affiliation: Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mandel
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paperna
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D055815:Young Adult; D050998:bcl-2 Homologous Antagonist-Killer Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: C494772:BAK1 protein, human; D064549:Myeloid Cell Leukemia Sequence 1 Protein; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D050998:bcl-2 Homologous Antagonist-Killer Protein; C502830:HUWE1 protein, human; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases