Biomedical subjects

Krishnaraj Rajalingam

Publications and source records attributed to Krishnaraj Rajalingam.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

NF-kappaB and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins are required for apoptosis resistance of epithelial cells persistently infected with Chlamydophila pneumoniae.

Infection with Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Cpn) renders host cells resistant to apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli. While modulation of apoptosis has been extensively studied in cells acutely infected with Cpn, very little is known on how persistent chlamydial infection influences host cell survival. Here we show that epithelial cells persistently infected with Cpn resist apoptosis induced with TNFalpha or staurosporine. Cpn induced the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) and inhibition of NF-kappaB with a chemical inhibitor or by silencing expression of the p65 subunit sensitized infected cells for apoptosis induction by staurosporine or TNFalpha. Persistent infection resulted in the upregulation of the NF-kappaB regulated inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2 (cIAP-2) but not inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1 (cIAP-1). Interestingly, silencing of either cIAP-1 or cIAP-2 sensitized infected cells, suggesting that IAPs play an important role in the apoptosis resistance of persistently infected cells.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2006

IAP-IAP complexes required for apoptosis resistance of C. trachomatis-infected cells.

Host cells infected with obligate intracellular bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis are profoundly resistant to diverse apoptotic stimuli. The molecular mechanisms underlying the block in apoptotic signaling of infected cells is not well understood. Here we investigated the molecular mechanism by which apoptosis induced via the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor is prevented in infected epithelial cells. Infection with C. trachomatis leads to the up-regulation of cellular inhibitor of apoptosis (cIAP)-2, and interfering with cIAP-2 up-regulation sensitized infected cells for TNF-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, besides cIAP-2, cIAP-1 and X-linked IAP, although not differentially regulated by infection, are required to maintain apoptosis resistance in infected cells. We detected that IAPs are constitutively organized in heteromeric complexes and small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of one of these IAPs affects the stability of another IAP. In particular, the stability of cIAP-2 is modulated by the presence of X-linked IAP and their interaction is stabilized in infected cells. Our observations suggest that IAPs are functional and stable as heteromers, a thus far undiscovered mechanism of IAP regulation and its role in modulation of apoptosis.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Ras-Raf signaling needs prohibitin.

Prohibitin has been connected to diverse cellular functions including cell cycle control, senescence, apoptosis and stabilization of mitochondrial proteins. By employing a loss of function approach using siRNAs we have demonstrated an unexpected role of PHB in the activation of Raf/MEK/ERK pathway by active Ras and in modulating epithelial cell adhesion and migration. PHB directly interacts with C-Raf and is required for the displacement of 14-3-3 from C-Raf by active Ras to facilitate plasma membrane localization and activation. Further, the adherent complex proteins cadherin and beta-catenin were localized to plasma membrane suggesting stabilized adherent junctions in PHB silenced cells. Our findings demonstrated a function of PHB in the control of a central signaling pathway involved in cell growth and malignant transformation.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Prohibitin is required for Ras-induced Raf-MEK-ERK activation and epithelial cell migration.

Ras proteins control the signalling pathways that are responsible for normal growth and malignant transformation. Raf protein kinases are direct Ras effector proteins that initiate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, which mediates diverse biological functions such as cell growth, survival and differentiation. Here we show that prohibitin, a ubiquitously expressed and evolutionarily conserved protein is indispensable for the activation of the Raf-MEK-ERK pathway by Ras. The membrane targeting and activation of C-Raf by Ras needs prohibitin in vivo. In addition, direct interaction with prohibitin is required for C-Raf activation. C-Raf kinase fails to interact with the active Ras induced by epidermal growth factor in the absence of prohibitin. Moreover, in prohibitin-deficient cells the adhesion complex proteins cadherin and beta-catenin relocalize to the plasma membrane and thereby stabilize adherens junctions. Our data show an unexpected role of prohibitin in the activation of the Ras-Raf signalling pathway and in modulating epithelial cell adhesion and migration.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

PubMed2004

A global approach combining proteome analysis and phenotypic screening with RNA interference yields novel apoptosis regulators.

Global approaches like proteome or transcriptome analyses have been performed extensively to identify candidate genes or proteins involved in biological and pathological processes. Here we describe the identification of proteins implicated in the regulation of apoptosis using proteome analysis and the functional validation of targets by RNA interference. A high-throughput platform for the validation of synthetic small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) by quantitative real-time PCR was established. Genes of the identified factors were silenced by automated siRNA transfection, and their role in apoptotic signaling was investigated. Using this strategy, nine new modulators of apoptosis were identified. A subsequent detailed study demonstrated that hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is required for TNFalpha-induced release of pro-apoptotic factors from mitochondria. The strategy described here may be used for hypothesis-free, global gene function analysis.

Apoptosis↗