Home General Physiology and Biophysics 2013 General Physiology and Biophysics Vol.32, No.2, p.179–187, 2013

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Founded: 1982
ISSN 1338-4325 (online)
ISSN 0231-5882 (print)
Published in English,
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General Physiology and Biophysics Vol.32, No.2, p.179–187, 2013

Title: Bcl-2 proapoptotic proteins distribution in U-87 MG glioma cells before and after hypericin photodynamic action
Author: Lucia Balogová, Mária Maslaňáková, Lenka Dzurová, Pavol Miškovský, Katarína Štroffeková

Abstract: Apoptosis is a key process in the development and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. This process of controlled cell death is tightly regulated by a balance between cell survival and damage signals. We focused our attention towards one apoptotic pathway, the intrinsic mitochondrial one where Bcl-2 family of proteins plays the major role. We are particularly interested in two pro-apoptotic players Bak and Bax from this family. Here we investigated their role in apoptosis triggered by photodynamic action. Targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising approach to diagnose and treat different types of cancer. We show the localization of Bax and Bak in U-87 MG human glioma cells incubated with photosensitizer hypericin (Hyp) before and after photodynamic action. Apoptotic stimulus by Hyp photodynamic action causes Bax translocation into mitochondria. However, our results suggest that under these conditions there are two populations of mitochondria: one which contains Bax and Bak simultaneously, and is almost exclusively localized near the plasma membrane; the other which contains Bax only and is distributed throughout the cell. The different protein content and spatial distribution of these two populations suggest that they can play different roles in response to apoptotic stimuli.

Keywords: Apoptosis — Bcl-2 proteins —Hypericin — PDT —Mitochondria
Published online: 24-Jan-2013
Year: 2013, Volume: 32, Issue: 2 Page From: 179, Page To: 187
doi:10.4149/gpb_2013021


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