Abstract
Thymosin-βs (Tβs) are small polypeptides with various biological functions, including cytoskeletal remodeling, angiogenesis, cellular migration, wound healing, and regulation of apoptosis. Recently, we found that Tβ is involved in the control of programmed cell death (PCD) of motoneurons (MNs) in chick embryo, and that the anti-apoptotic action of Tβ is independent of its actin-sequestering activity. In this study, we observed that a synthetic peptide derived from Tβ suppressed staurosporine-induced neuronal apoptosis in vitro, and PCD of chick or rat MNs in vivo. Furthermore, inhibition of Tβ4 in chick embryo by antibody significantly augmented the PCD of MNs, suggesting that secreted form of Tβ is physiological regulator of PCD. Based on these findings, we propose that extracellularly secreted Tβ is involved in the control of PCD of neurons during development, and Tβ-derived peptides could be useful for the anti-apoptotic therapy of neuropathologies related to neuronal apoptosis.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 587-593 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Biochemical and biophysical research communications |
Volume | 362 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2007 Oct 26 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by the Korea Science Engineering Foundation grant funded by the Korea government (M10412000078-04N1200-07810 and M103KV010018-03K2201-01820K).
Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Extracellular
- Motoneuron
- Programmed cell death
- Synthetic peptides
- Thymosin-β
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology