The Neuronal Death Protein Par-4 Mediates Dopaminergic Synaptic Plasticity

Table 1.

Examples of “Apoptotic” Proteins Located in Synapses and Neurites

Protein Actions References
aIL-1β, Interleukin-1β.
bTNF-α, Tumor necrosis factor–α
Caspase-3 Cleaves substrates involved in synaptic plasticity and cell death (19, 25)
Caspase-1 Cleaves IL-1βa precursor (19)
Bcl-2 Stabilizes mitochondrial membranes; modulates calcium signaling (24)
Bcl-xL Stabilizes mitochondrial membranes; modulates calcium signaling (23)
Par-4 Modulates atypical PKC, NF-κB, D2DR (7, 8, 11)
p53 Increases mitochondrial membrane permeability (27)
Cytochrome c Activates the apoptosome; stimulates ER calcium release (28, 29)
TNF-αb Modulates synaptic plasticity (30)
Fas Modulates neurite branching and synaptogenesis (31)
Ceramide Modulates synaptic vesicle trafficking and exocytosis (32)

This Article

  1. MI October 2005 vol. 5 no. 5 278-281