P2Z purinoreceptor ligation induces activation of caspases with distinct roles in apoptotic and necrotic alterations of cell death

• Myeloic cells express a peculiar surface receptor for extracellular ATP, called the P2Z/P2X(7) purinoreceptor, which is involved in cell death signalling. Here, we investigated the role of caspases, a family of proteases implicated in apoptosis and the cytokine secretion. We observed that extracellular ATP induced the activation of multiple caspases including caspase-1, -3 and -8, and subsequent cleavage of the caspase substrates PARP and Iamin B. Using caspase inhibitors, it was found that caspases were specifically involved in ATP-induced apoptotic damage such as chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation, In contrast, inhibition of caspases only marginally affected necrotic alterations and cell death proceeded normally whether or not nuclear damage was blocked. Our results therefore suggest that the activation of caspases by the P2Z receptor is required for apoptotic but not necrotic alterations of ATP-induced cell death. (C) 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biokemi och molekylärbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Apoptosis

atp

caspase

extracellular atp

flice

il-1-beta

necrosis

p2x(7)

p2z

Proteasome

purinoreceptor

receptor

release

thymocyte apoptosis

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)