Apoptosis‐Specific Protein (ASP) Identified in Apoptotic Xenopus Thymus Tumor Cells

Abstract

A novel apoptosis-specific protein (ASP) has recently been identified in the cytoplasm of apoptotic mammalian cells. This (Gregory, 1995). During ontogeny, T and B lymphocytes that are autoreactive or nonfunctional, due to inappropriate rearrangement of antigen-receptor gene segments, die by apoptosis (Osborne, 1996). Cytolytic lymphocytes (both T and NK cells) kill by inducing apoptosis in their target cells (Berke, 1995) (Duke, 1996).In mammals, apoptosis can be characterized morphologically by cell shrinkage, nuclear pycnosis, chromatin condensation, and plasma membrane blebbing, with rapid phagocytosis of apoptotic cells (Martins and Earnshaw, 1997 [Horton et al., 1996b], and T cells [Horton et al, 1997a[Horton et al, , 1997b Aliquots were also taken for fluorescence microscopic analysis of either acetone-fixed cytospins stained with anti-ASP ( Figure 2E) or unfixed cells stained with acridine orange (Figures 2A to 2D Splenocytes ( Figure 5 and Figure 6).

Assignment<footref rid="foot01">¹</footref> of the yeast APG5 human homologue APG5L to chromosome band 6q21 by fluorescence in situ hybridisation

“…At very late stages of apoptosis a dramatic increase in a number of apparently related proteins of varying molecular weights (20-150 kDa) was observed (Grand et al, 1995). ASP was seen in all mammalian apoptotic cells and has been detected in cells from other vertebrates, such as chickens and frogs (Horton et al, 1998). A gene encoding one ASP component has been cloned from a human foetal liver expression library .…”