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Apoptotic and proliferating hepatocytes differ in prothymosin α expression and cell localization

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Abstract

Prothymosin α is an acidic protein, reported to be involved in cell proliferation and apoptosis, although its precise function in both processes are still unknown. Due to the importance of these processes in the pathogenesis of hepatic diseases and the need to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases we aimed to investigate the behavior of this protein in liver growth and apoptosis, in two models of hepatocytes in culture. Prothymosin α expression varied throughout the hepatocyte cell cycle, according to its progression. Proliferating hepatocytes showed increased expression of the protein, while apoptotic ones showed decreased levels. The subcellular location of prothymosin α differed according to the different phases of the cell cycle. Thus, it appeared with a stippled and widely dispersed pattern throughout the nucleus in quiescent and proliferating hepatocytes, while it became cytoplasmic in mitotic and late apoptotic cells. These results are in agreement with the idea that high levels of prothymosin α need to be present in the nucleus for proliferation, and programmed cell death requires low levels of prothymosin α outside of the nucleus. The differences in prothymosin α expression and localization during hepatocyte proliferation and apoptosis suggest that this protein may have a pleiotropic function that depends not only on its availability but also on its various localizations in different subcellular compartments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Veterinaria, Lugo, Spain

    Luciana Barbini, Rosario Gonzalez & Felix Vega

  2. Laboratorios de Neurociencia “Ramon Dominguez”, Departamento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, España, Spain

    Fernando Dominguez

  3. Departamento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Campus Universitario, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Felix Vega

Authors
  1. Luciana Barbini
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  2. Rosario Gonzalez
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  3. Fernando Dominguez
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  4. Felix Vega
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Correspondence to Felix Vega.

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Barbini, L., Gonzalez, R., Dominguez, F. et al. Apoptotic and proliferating hepatocytes differ in prothymosin α expression and cell localization. Mol Cell Biochem 291, 83–91 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-006-9200-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-006-9200-0

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