title: Regulation of mitochondrial apoptosis by Pin1 in cancer and neurodegeneration.
abstract: Mitochondria are sensitive and efficient organelles that regulate essential biological processes including: energy metabolism, decoding and transduction of intracellular signals, and balance between cell death and survival. Of note, dysfunctions in mitochondrial physiology are a general hallmark of cancer cells, leading to transformation-related features such as altered cellular metabolism, survival under stress conditions and reduced apoptotic response to chemotherapy. Mitochondrial apoptosis is a finely regulated process that derives from activation of multiple signaling networks. A crucial biochemical requirement for transducing pro-apoptotic stimuli is represented by kinase-dependent phosphorylation cascades. In this context a pivotal role is played by the prolyl-isomerase Pin1, which translates Ser/Thr-Pro phosphorylation into conformational changes able to modify the activities of its substrates. In this review we will discuss the impact of Pin1 in regulating various aspects of apoptosis in different biological contexts with particular emphasis on cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nazionale CIB Area Science Park, Trieste Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita Università degli Studi di Trieste- Trieste Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sorrentino
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nazionale CIB Area Science Park, Trieste Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita Università degli Studi di Trieste- Trieste Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Comel
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nazionale CIB Area Science Park, Trieste Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita Università degli Studi di Trieste- Trieste Italy.
authors.forename: Fiamma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mantovani
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Nazionale CIB Area Science Park, Trieste Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita Università degli Studi di Trieste- Trieste Italy. Electronic address: delsal@lncib.it.
authors.forename: Giannino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Del Sal
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D000072340:NIMA-Interacting Peptidylprolyl Isomerase; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000072340:NIMA-Interacting Peptidylprolyl Isomerase; C000606846:PIN1 protein, human; D019696:Peptidylprolyl Isomerase
keywords: Apoptosis; Cancer; Mitochondria; Pin1; p53