The newly emerged Maf family proteins possess a highly conserved basic leucine zipper (bZip) domain in common and are subdivided into large and small Maf proteins. The Maf family proteins appear to regulate cell differentiation processes and also cellular functions as partner molecules of CNC family proteins. To facilitate understanding of the function of small Maf proteins, we isolated the genes (MAFG and MAFK) encoding human small Maf proteins MafG and MafK and characterized their structures and organization by means of restriction enzyme mapping, Southern blot hybridization and nucleotide sequence analysis. Organization of the small maf genes are highly conserved in vertebrates, suggesting an important functional contribution of the gene products. We also examined the location of these genes within the human genome by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Human MAFG and MAFK are located at 17q25 and 7p22, respectively. Thus, small maf genes are not clustered in a single locus.
Quorum sensing is defined as the ability of microorganisms to sense their population density via the release of signaling molecules called autoinducers (AIs). Various types of AI analogs were prepared and their antitumor properties against chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) K562 cells were investigated. Two AI analogs induced progressive apoptosis with JNK activation and p21 induction. In addition, this induction of apoptosis is not related to bcr-abl kinase, which sustains CML proliferation. However, the progression of apoptosis was not inhibited by a caspase family inhibitor. These results suggested that AI analogs could induce caspase-independent apoptosis in CML K562.
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