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Studies On A Novel Human Cardiospecific Transcription Factor And Its Involvement In Omi/Htra2 Mediated Cell Death, Meenakshi Puthucode Balakrishnan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Omi/HtrA2 is a mitochondrial serine protease that is known to translocate to the cytoplasm upon induction of apoptosis and to activate caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death. The molecular mechanism of Omi/HtrA2's function is not clear but involves degradation of specific substrates. These substrates include cytoplasmic, mitochondrial, as well as nuclear proteins. We have isolated a new Omi/HtrA2 interactor, the THAP5 protein. THAP5 is a fifth member of a large family of transcription factors that are involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle control, chromosome segregation, chromatin modification and transcriptional regulation. THAP5 is an approximately 50kDa nuclear protein, with a restricted …