FEBS National Award:
The cellular behaviour of the apoptotic factor Apaf1 during cell death

Wanda Kukulski

Bern, Switzerland

The cell death program known as apoptosis is essential for organisms to remove surplus cells. This mechanism is important during development as well as for everyday tissue maintenance. Apoptosis also prevents uncontrolled proliferation of potentially cancerous cells. During the program, cytochrome c is released from mitochondria where it interacts with Apaf1 in the cytosol. This is known as the formation of the apoptosome complex, a key event in apoptosis. This complex serves as a platform for the activation of caspases, which are the proteases that execute the dismantling of the cell. In this talk, I will present our work towards elucidating how the apoptotic events involving Apaf1 are spatiotemporally regulated within the cell’s intricate architecture.

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