“We shall not cease from expolration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time” T.S Eliot “Little Gidding”(the last of his FourQurtets)
The role of ARTS in cell death and cancer
All cells in our body have the ability to self-destruct by activating an intrinsic cell suicide program called “Apoptosis”. In this way, the accumulation of damaged and potentially dangerous cells, such as tumor cells, is greatly limited. Unfortunately, cancer cells can acquire resistance towards cell death by inactivating cell suicide pathways, thereby gaining the ability for “unlimited” life and propagation. However, the ability to undergo apoptosis is not completely lost in cancer cells and most currently used anti-cancer therapies (chemotherapy, radiation) act by activation this apoptosis death pathway in cancer cells… Read more
Prof. Sarit Larisch, Ph.D.
ARTS (Sept4_i2) is a pro-apoptotic and tumor suppressor protein that functions as an antagonist of X-linked IAP (Inhibitor of Apoptosis protein-XIAP) and Bcl-2 to promote apoptosis. It is generally thought that mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) occurs before activation of caspases and is required for it. We have shown that ARTS initiates caspase activation upstream of MOMP…Read more
