apoptotic protease-activating factor 1; APAF-1 (APAF1, KIAA0413)

Function

• oligomeric Apaf-1 mediates the cytochrome c-dependent autocatalytic activation of pro-caspase-9 (Apaf-3), leading to the activation of caspase-3 & apoptosis (activation requires ATP)
• isoform 6 is less effective in inducing apoptosis
• oligomerizes upon binding of cytochrome C & dATP
• oligomeric Apaf-1 & pro-caspase-9 bind to each other via their respective NH2-terminal CARD domains & consecutively mature caspase-9 is released from the complex
• pro-caspase-3 is recruited into the Apaf-1-pro-caspase-9 complex via interaction with pro-caspase-9
• interacts with APIP

Structure

• monomer
• homologous to C. elegans CED-4.
• the CARD domain mediates interaction with APIP
• contains 1 CARD domain
• contains 1 NB-ARC domain
• contains 13 WD repeats

Compartment

cytoplasm

Alternative splicing

named isoforms=6

Expression

• ubiquitous
• highest levels of expression in adult spleen & peripheral blood leukocytes, & in fetal brain, kidney & lung
• isoform 1 is expressed in heart, kidney & liver
• induced by E2F & p53 in apoptotic neurons

More general terms

• WD repeat protein family
• phosphoprotein
• pro apoptotic protein

Additional terms

• nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein 1; caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 4 (NOD1, CARD4)

Database

• Entrez gene: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=gene&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Graphics&list_uids=317
• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?hsa:317
• OMIM: https://mirror.omim.org/entry/602233
• UniProt: http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/O14727.html
• Kegg: http://www.genome.jp/dbget-bin/www_bget?