AI Article Synopsis
- Early research on the nematode C. elegans helped understand human apoptosis regulated by BCL-2, but differences in the apoptosis mechanisms between C. elegans and humans were later identified.
- New findings revealed the presence of BCL-2 orthologues in 89 different nematode species, with some species having multiple BCL-2-like proteins while others lack recognizable BCL-2 sequences.
- Functional studies indicated that BAX/BAK proteins are not present in nematodes, and structural analysis showed that BCL-2 proteins from basal nematodes have unique features compared to those from C. elegans, including different sequences involved in apoptosome assembly.
Article Abstract
Early studies of the free-living nematode C. elegans informed us how BCL-2-regulated apoptosis in humans is regulated. However, subsequent studies showed C. elegans apoptosis has several unique features compared with human apoptosis. To date, there has been no detailed analysis of apoptosis regulators in nematodes other than C. elegans. Here, we discovered BCL-2 orthologues in 89 free-living and parasitic nematode taxa representing four evolutionary clades (I, III, IV and V). Unlike in C. elegans, 15 species possess multiple (two to five) BCL-2-like proteins, and some do not have any recognisable BCL-2 sequences. Functional studies provided no evidence that BAX/BAK proteins have evolved in nematodes, and structural studies of a BCL-2 protein from the basal clade I revealed it lacks a functionally important feature of the C. elegans orthologue. Clade I CED-4/APAF-1 proteins also possess WD40-repeat sequences associated with apoptosome assembly, not present in C. elegans, or other nematode taxa studied.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456325 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01208-5 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!