Cardiolipin-enriched raft-like microdomains are essential activating platforms for apoptotic signals on mitochondria

Sorice, Maurizio; Manganelli, Valeria; Matarrese, Paola; Tinari, Antonella; Misasi, Roberta; Malorni, Walter; Garofalo, Tina

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2009.07.018

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Volume 583, Issue 15 , Pages 2447-2450, 6 August 2009

Cardiolipin-enriched raft-like microdomains are essential activating platforms for apoptotic signals on mitochondria

Edited by Lukas Huber

Maurizio Sorice
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Environmental Pathology, “Sapienza” University, Rieti, Italy
- Corresponding author. Address: Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy. Fax: +39 6 4454820.
Valeria Manganelli
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
Paola Matarrese
- Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome, Italy
Antonella Tinari
- Section of Ultrastructural Infectious Pathology, Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome, Italy
Roberta Misasi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
Walter Malorni
- Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Department of Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanita’, Rome, Italy
- They equally contributed to this work.
Tina Garofalo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine and Environmental Pathology, “Sapienza” University, Rieti, Italy
- They equally contributed to this work.

Received 15 May 2009; received in revised form 8 July 2009; accepted 10 July 2009. published online 17 July 2009.

Abstract

Cardiolipin (CL) has recently been shown to provide an anchor and an essential activating platform for caspase-8 on mitochondria. We hypothesize that these platforms may correspond to “raft-like” microdomains, which have demonstrated to be detectable on mitochondrial membrane of cells undergoing apoptosis. The role for CL in “raft-like” microdomains could be to anchor caspase-8 at contact sites between inner and outer membranes, facilitating its self-activation, Bid cleavage and apoptosis execution. The role played by “raft-like” microdomains in the apoptotic program could introduce a new task in the pathogenetic studies on human diseases associated with cardiolipin dismetabolism.

Keywords: Cardiolipin, Lipid raft, Apoptosis, Mitochondria