NUC-1, aCaenorhabditis elegansDNase II homolog, functions in an intermediate step of DNA degradation during apoptosis
Year: 2000
Type: preprint
Abstract: One hallmark of apoptosis is the degradation of chromosomal DNA. We cloned the Caenorhabditis elegans gene nuc-1, which is involved in the degradation of the DNA of apoptotic cells, and found that nuc-1 encodes a homolog of mammalian DNase II. We used the TUNEL technique to assay DNA degradation in nuc-1 and other mutants defective in programmed cell death and discovered that TUNEL labels apoptotic cells only during a transient intermediate stage. Mutations in nuc-1 allowed the generation of TUNEL-reactive DNA but blocked the conversion of TUNEL-reactive DNA to a subsequent TUNEL-unreactive state. Completion of DNA degradation did not occur in the absence of cell-corpse engulfment. Our data suggest that the process of degradation of the DNA of a cell corpse occurs in at least three distinct steps and requires activities provided by both the dying and the engulfing cell.
Source: Genes & Development
DOI: 10.1101/gad.14.5.536
Authors: Yi-Chun Wu, Gillian M. Stanfield, H. Robert Horvitz
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
OpenAlex ID: W7096399119