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Depletion of cholesterol in the cell membrane using a drug (mevastatin) has been associated with apoptosis in cancer cells. a. What effect would cholesterol depletion have on the integrity of lipid ra...

Depletion of cholesterol in the cell membrane using a drug (mevastatin) has been associated with

apoptosis in cancer cells.

a. What effect would cholesterol depletion have on the integrity of lipid rafts in the membrane?

b. Researchers found that FAS death receptor was activated in cholesterol depleted cancer cells.

Explain how activation of this receptor activates killer caspases.

c. When a caspase is converted from its inactive to its active form there are changes in the primary

and tertiary structure of the caspase. Explain this statement!

d. FAS death receptor is localized to lipid rafts! So what is your conclusion as to why mevastatin

initiates apoptosis in cancer cells?

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Answer #1

a. Cholesterol is a critical structural component of lipid rafts, and depletion of cholesterol leads to disorganization of lipid raft microdomains.

b.Engagement of the death receptors with their cognate ligands such as FasL/CD95L, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), lymphotoxin-alpha (LT-α), TNF-like protein-1A (TL1A), and Apo2L/TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and their receptors promotes recruitment and activation of the apoptosis-initiating proteases, caspase-8, and caspase-10

c.

d.Mevasatatin reduces cholestderol level in body. Depletion of cholesterol leads to disorganization of lipid raft microdomains. Since FAS death receptor is localized to lipid rafts, they get exposed to their ligands like apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and their receptors promotes recruitment and activation of the apoptosis-initiating proteases, caspase-8, and caspase-10

Apoptosis(cell death) results from a post-translational pathway driven largely by specific limited proteolysis.

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