A Prickly Subject: Apoptotic Regulation by Hedgehog Morphogens
Mark Ditzel*Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Edinburgh CRUK Research Centre, Cancer Biology, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XR, UK
Abstract
Morphogens, as intercellular signalling proteins, provide a non-cell-autonomous mechanism to impart positional information to cells and govern essential cellular processes such as apoptosis. Individual morphogen pathways utilise diverse strategies to regulate the assembly and activity of the pro-apoptotic multi-protein complexes – namely the apoptosome and the death-inducing signalling complex (DISC). This review aims to highlight the apoptotic regulatory mechanisms utilised by the Hedgehog (HH) morphogen pathway – with particular emphasis on a novel Caspase-9 activating complex and the utilisation of a pro-apoptotic autocrine-signalling loop.
Keywords: Hedgehog, apoptosis, BMP, dependesome, patched, smoothened, morphogen.
Article Information
Article History:
Received Date: 25/1/2010
Revision Received Date: 20/9/2010
Acceptance Date: 20/10/2010
Electronic publication date: 14/4/2011
Collection year: 2011
© Mark Ditzel; Licensee Bentham Open.
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (
http: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
* Address correspondence to this author at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Edinburgh CRUK Research Centre, Cancer Biology, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XR, UK; Tel: +44 (0)131 777 3555; E-mail: mditzel@ed.ac.uk
Open Peer Review Details |
Manuscript submitted on 25-1-2010 |
Original Manuscript |
A Prickly Subject: Apoptotic Regulation by Hedgehog Morphogens |