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Induction of Apoptosis by Ribosome Inactivating Proteins

Importance of N-glycosidase Activity

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Abstract

Apoptotic cell death is a fundamental process in the development and physiological homeostasis of multicellular organisms. It is associated with control of cell numbers in tissues and organs during development, with cell turnover, and with response to infection. Molecules that trigger this process in continuously proliferating cancer cells can be used as chemotherapeutic agents. Ribosome inactivating proteins (RIPs) that inhibit translation in a cell by depurinating (N-glycosidase activity) the 28S rRNA are known to serve as apoptosis inducers. However, the role of depurination activity of the RIPs in apoptosis induction is still controversial. Presently, there are three different hypotheses which propose that depurination is: (1) essential, (2) essential but not the sole factor, or (3) not essential for apoptosis induction. This article reviews various experimental outcomes on the importance of N-glycosidase activity of RIPs in the induction of apoptosis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Anne Kathryn Marie Kauffman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (USA), for critical reading, constructive suggestions and editing the MS; the Department of Biotechnology (Govt. of India) and the University of Delhi for financial support to VM and RSS. MKD received CSIR-JRF for PhD.

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  1. Department of Environmental Studies, Laboratory of Bioresources & Environmental Biotechnology, University of Delhi, Delhi, -110 007, India

    Mrinal Kumar Das, Radhey Shyam Sharma & Vandana Mishra

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  1. Mrinal Kumar Das
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  3. Vandana Mishra
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Das, M.K., Sharma, R.S. & Mishra, V. Induction of Apoptosis by Ribosome Inactivating Proteins. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 166, 1552–1561 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-012-9550-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-012-9550-x

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