English
The purpose of this study is to better understand the biology of Translationally Controlled Tumor Protein (TCTP). TCTP encodes for an anti-apoptotic protein, which is elevated in tumor cells and downregulated in the process of tumor reversion. TCTP binds Bcl-xL and Mcl1, two members of the Bcl2 family of anti-apoptotic proteins. We have previously suggested that TCTP functions by inhibiting Bax. For the purpose of this project we will use three approaches to investigate the biological function of TCTP. 1. Co-crystals of TCTP with Mcl1 or BclxL and Bax will be analyzed. 2. TCTP conditional knockout mice will be generated, since the total knockout is lethal. 3. The physiologic interaction between TCTP and some of its regulators and protein partners, more specifically TSAP6, will also be investigated by generating TSAP6 conditional knockout mice.
