アポトーシス誘導にかかわるROSセンサーアニオンチャネル

抄録

Apoptosis is a physiological/pathophysiological form of cell death. An apoptotic volume decrease, which is induced by water efflux driven by ion effluxes under apoptotic stimulation, is a pivotal event triggering a cell to undergo apoptosis. Electrophysiological experiments revealed that an inducer of mitochondrion- or death receptor-mediated apoptosis activates volume-sensitive outwardly rectifying (VSOR) Cl^- channels that are usually involved in cell volume regulation. The channel activation via a mitochondrial pathway, but not a death receptor pathway, is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we describe that VSOR Cl^- channels can sense the intracellular ROS level and that ROS-induced VSOR anion channel activation is essential for mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis processes.