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Bcl-xL deamidation is a critical switch in the regulation of the response to DNA damage

  • Benjamin E. Deverman
  • , Brian L. Cook
  • , Scott R. Manson
  • , Robert A. Niederhoff
  • , Ellen M. Langer
  • , Ivana Rosová
  • , Laura A. Kulans
  • , Xiaoyun Fu
  • , Justin S. Weinberg
  • , Jay W. Heinecke
  • , Kevin A. Roth
  • , Steven J. Weintraub

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The therapeutic value of DNA-damaging antineoplastic agents is dependent upon their ability to induce tumor cell apoptosis while sparing most normal tissues. Here, we show that a component of the apoptotic response to these agents in several different types of tumor cells is the deamidation of two asparagines in the unstructured loop of Bcl-xL, and we demonstrate that deamidation of these asparagines imports susceptibility to apoptosis by disrupting the ability of Bcl-xL to block the proapoptotic activity of BH3 domain-only proteins. Conversely, Bcl-xL deamidation is actively suppressed in fibroblasts, and suppression of deamidation is an essential component of their resistance to DNA damage-induced apoptosis. Our results suggest that the regulation of Bcl-xL deamidation has a critical role in the tumor-specific activity of DNA-damaging antineoplastic agents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)51-62
Number of pages12
JournalCell
Volume111
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 4 2002

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