Question

Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death. It is an integral part of development in multi-cellular organisms. Answer both questions.

A. Describe the role of Ced proteins for apoptosis in C. elegans.

B. Describe the mechanism of apoptosis regulation by the BAD protein.

Answer 1

a). The apoptosis regulator CED-9 (cell death abnormality gene 9) was first found in Caenorhabditis elegans or C. elegans, which was found to inhibit the apoptosis. This gene was involved in the inhibition of CED-3 caspase activator gene, i.e. CED-4. In research, the CED-9 is been used to indicate the Bcl-2 gene interactions in apoptosis in humans.

b). Apoptosis may occur through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways upon stimuli. In intrinsic pathway, anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins inhibit mitochondrial outer membrane permeation. The Bcl-2 associated death promoter (BAD) is a pro-apoptotic factor, which is involved in apoptosis initiation. BAD is a member of the Bcl-2 family, which forms a heterodimer with anti-apoptotic proteins and prevent the apoptosis signals.