Abstract
Photodamage to the mitochondria of murine leukemia P388 cells resulted in immediate loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential together with the release of cytochrome c into the cytosol. This was followed by a rapid activation of caspase 3-like proteases, as indicated by a marked rise in DEVDase activity. There was no significant effect on WEHDase or VEIDase activities, suggesting that only the late-stage caspases had been effected. The apoptotic response to mitochondrial photodamage was abolished by the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk, but this did not prevent loss of viability after mitochondrial photodamage. These studies indicate that the release of cytochrome c from photodamaged mitochondria is sufficient to directly initiate a caspase-dependent apoptotic response.
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Kessel, D., Luo, Y. Photodynamic therapy: A mitochondrial inducer of apoptosis. Cell Death Differ 6, 28–35 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400446
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.cdd.4400446
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