• Submit to Biomolecules Login Register
• MDPI
• Journals A-Z
• For Authors
• For Editors
• About
• Open Access Policy

• Abstract
• Full-Text PDF [5589 KB]
• Full-Text XML
• Article Versions Notes

• Article Statistics
• Google Scholar
• Order Reprints

• Cite this article
• Export to BibTeX
• Export to EndNote

• [+] on DOAJ
• Londono, C
• Osorio, C
• Gama, V
• Alzate, O
• [+] on Google Scholar
• Londono, C
• Osorio, C
• Gama, V
• Alzate, O
• [+] on PubMed
• Londono, C
• Osorio, C
• Gama, V
• Alzate, O

•  CiteULike
•  Facebook
•  Mendeley
•  Twitter

This article is

• freely available
• re-usable

Biomolecules 2012, 2(1), 143-164; doi:10.3390/biom2010143

Review

Mortalin, Apoptosis, and Neurodegeneration

Carolina Londono ¹ , Cristina Osorio ² , Vivian Gama ³  and Oscar Alzate ^4,*

¹ Systems Proteomics Center Laboratory, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia ² Systems Proteomics Center Laboratory and Program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA ³ Neuroscience Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA ⁴ Systems Proteomics Center Laboratory, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellin, Colombia

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 31 January 2012; in revised form: 22 February 2012 / Accepted: 23 February 2012 / Published: 1 March 2012

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers)

Download PDF Full-Text [5589 KB, uploaded 1 March 2012 16:43 CET]

Abstract: Mortalin is a highly conserved heat-shock chaperone usually found in multiple subcellular locations. It has several binding partners and has been implicated in various functions ranging from stress response, control of cell proliferation, and inhibition/prevention of apoptosis. The activity of this protein involves different structural and functional mechanisms, and minor alterations in its expression level may lead to serious biological consequences, including neurodegeneration. In this article we review the most current data associated with mortalin’s binding partners and how these protein-protein interactions may be implicated in apoptosis and neurodegeneration. A complete understanding of the molecular pathways in which mortalin is involved is important for the development of therapeutic strategies for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; apoptosis; GRP75; mortalin; mtHsp70; neurodegeneration; oxidative stress; Quantitative Intact Proteomics; p53

Article Statistics

Cite This Article